Oni OneHalf
by brown phantom
Summary: AU Crossover with Urusei Yatsura. Ranma falls into a different version of the Nyannichuan. Instead of becoming a redhead, he gets green hair. And a few other things with it. Other curses will be different too.
1. Here's Ranma?

'Bringing Ranma from China. Genma.'

At those words on the postcard with a panda on it, Soun Tendo started tearing up as he usually did when overstimulated. "At last, Ranma is coming. I must tell the girls."

**Ch. 1 Here's... Ranma?**

"Kasumi!"

A young woman in the kitchen cutting up watermelon stopped what she was doing and turned around. "Yes, Father?"

"Come into the sitting room. I've got something to tell you all." Soun eagerly told her before running off.

'Oh my, wonder what has him all riled up all of a sudden.' Kasumi thought before washing her hands and doing as she was told.

"Nabiki!"

A younger woman was lying on her bed with a popsicle in her mouth and looking at a magazine. "Hmm?"

"Come down to the sitting room. Family meeting." Soun told her before running off again.

'Haven't seen him this eager since the bar had a two-for-one special. This must be big.' Nabiki thought as she stretched off her mattress.

"Akane. Akane? Where is that girl?" The Tendo patriarch asked himself, unable to find his youngest child.

Said teenager came into the house from a side entrance after a jog and went to the family dojo, eager for a little more in her workout. She changed into her gi and set up some cinder blocks, and then crushed them with a karate chop. "That felt good."

"Y'know, this is exactly why the boys at school think you're strange Akane." Nabiki commented, standing by the entrance to the dojo.

"So what?" Akane snuffed. "Not everyone thinks the world revolves around boys Nabiki." She said the word 'boys' as if it was venomous.

Nabiki turned away with her arms behind her head. "Oh yeah? Well, then maybe you wouldn't be interested in what Daddy has to tell us." She walked away before Akane could ask for more.

'Huh? What does she mean by that?' Akane asked herself, then followed her sister. She met up with her in the sitting room, and sat down with her and Kasumi on one side of the low table across from their father. "What's going on, Dad?"

"Well, I got a postcard from an old friend of mine. He and I were students of Anything Goes Martial Arts years ago and even though we specialized in different aspects of the art and did different things afterwards, we both knew one day it would be good to unite the two branches again. So we decided that in the future, if one of us had a son and the other a daughter, we'd get the two wed so the schools would be united."

None of his daughters said anything, but he could tell they had already put the pieces together. Nevertheless, he continued his explanation. "My friend, Genma Saotome, had one child, a son named Ranma. If one of you three were to marry him, the future and well-being of yourself and the estate would be secure."

"Now wait a minute!" Akane angrily yelled. "Don't _we_ get to have a say in who we marry?"

"Akane's right, Father." Kasumi calmly added. "We've never even met Ranma."

"That's easily fixed. He's on his way here." Soun told them.

"Now?" Akane asked, not liking this more and more.

"Yes. Ranma and his father have been on a training trip for about ten years and are headed this way. They've been to quite a few places, and recently it seems they've crossed into China." Soun explained.

Nabiki sure was impressed. "Wow! China?" 'Must have quite a wallet to afford that trip.'

Akane wasn't so impressed. "So he went all the way to China. Big deal."

"What kind of guy is he? Is he cute?" Nabiki curiously asked.

"How old is he? Younger men bore me." Kasumi wondered. "What kind of guy is this Ranma?"

Soun took a deep breath. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Nabiki repeated, frowning.

"I've never met him." He confessed casually. Needless to say, this did not help his case, and things got quiet enough that the soft sound of rain starting could be heard from outside.

* * *

The sounds of fighting down the street could be heard, and passerbys looked over to see what was going on. Imagine their surprise when they see, of all things possible and impossible, a girl running around in public in broad daylight and the rain in a skimpy bikini, chased by some kind of animal that almost looked like a tiger. The girl turned around to face the creature and took up a combat stance. "Your move, old man. Datcha." No male could take their eyes off her. She wore a tiger-stripe bikini on a killer body and had exotic green hair, with a white bandanna covering the top of her head. All the women around were horrified by her lack of decency and jealous of her figure at the same time.

The animal stood on it's back legs to face the girl. At first glance, one might think it was a fat tiger. But two horns, a green tail that looked more appropriate on an ungulate, and the overall shape and size of the beast made it look part bovine too. It had claws but the foot was shaped more like a hoof, and the roar it made almost sounded more like a 'moo'.

"Is that a tiger?" A random passerby asked the person next to him.

"It almost looks like a cow of some kind." They replied.

The tiger-cow tried to strike at the green-haired girl like a martial artist would, and the girl easily dodged it. "Well I still say this whole thing sucks!" She grabbed ahold of the tiger-cows arm and got a firm hold. "Picking my fiancee for me without even asking me!" She then flung him over her shoulder, grimacing out of either anger or the effort to lift the beast. The tiger-cow stayed still where it laid, looking like it wasn't going to move anymore. "I'm going back to China now. Suck on that old man-tcha." She then picked up a pack that had been by the tiger-cow, flung it on her shoulder, and stated walking away, trying hard to ignore the looks she was getting.

Before she could get ten steps away, the tiger-cow got back up, grabbed an unrooted street sign, and whacked the girl in the back of the head. She was out like a light. The tiger-cow then lifted her onto it's back and started walking away on all fours. It paused to glance back at the spectators, and roared-mooed to get them to leave them be, which they did. Satisfied, it walked away.

The tiger-cow was undisturbed for the rest of the way to it's destination. The sign on the surrounding wall confirmed the address and he went up to the front door and rang the doorbell. The sound must have awakened the girl, for she started moving. Fearing another escape, the tiger-cow dropped her onto the ground and then picked her up by the waist in it's jaws, hoping that the girl wouldn't use her best weapon on him.

The sound of footsteps could be heard and then the door opened. Soun and Nabiki took one look at the animal and bolted, forgetting to close the door. The tiger-cow, ignoring the writhing girl in it's mouth, stepped inside carefully. After turning down a hallway, it came across Soun standing guard before all three of his daughters.

"That's enough you idiot-tcha. You're scaring them." The green-haired girl told the animal, which chose then to deposit her on the floor.

"Umm... who are you?" Soun asked. He wasn't expecting any women to show up today, and he didn't have to hug the girl to discover that was exactly what she was.

"And why the hell are you dressed like that?" Akane asked, more out of shock than anything.

The green-haired girl stood up slowly, fiddled with her fingers, and looked away sadly. "Sorry about all this. I'm Ranma Saotome and my old man wanted me to be here today-tcha."

"Yo... you're Ranma?" Soun asked, and she nodded. "Is your father by any chance Genma Saotome?" She nodded again, and Soun fainted.

* * *

Soun came back to consciousness to find he was lying on a futon with a warm cloth on his forehead and four girls sitting around him. Three were his daughters, but the fourth was the green-haired newcomer who called herself Ranma Saotome. He groaned, letting them all know he was awake and not too pleased about things.

"Poor father, he must be so disappointed." Kasumi said, caringly as always.

"_He's _disappointed? He's not the only one. Some fiancee." Nabiki commented in annoyance, giving Ranma a brief bothered look.

"Don't be like that Nabiki. He... she is our guest." Akane reprimanded.

Nabiki decided to say something to her father rather then her sister. "Hey Dad, don't you know the difference between a boy and a girl?"

"I assumed my friend's _son_ was a boy." He defended.

"Does this look like a boy to you?" Nabiki asked, grabbing Ranma's breast for emphasis.

"Would you stop that?" Ranma asked irritably.

Nabiki pulled her hand away, and noticed that before she let go of the girl there had been a bit of a static shock. She didn't pay it any mind.

"Sorry about that. I'm Akane by the way. You wanna be friends?" Akane said as she stood up, smiling cutely.

Ranma smiled back. "That sounds nice-tcha."

"Hey, you know martial arts?" Akane asked, and Ranma nodded. "C'mon, let's go to the dojo. You can show me how good you are."

Akane led the bikini-clad girl into the dojo, paying little mind to the girl's attire for the time. She was still wearing her practice gi so all she had to do was take up a stance. She noticed Ranma hadn't taken up any. "Well, get ready." Ranma did nothing except stand there with her hands clasped behind her back. Akane shrugged this off and tried to tag her opponent, but Ranma easily dodged it by leaning towards the right. Akane tried again, and Ranma leaned to the left this time. Akane got closer for another move, and Ranma stepped back and leaned backwards, avoiding the hit again.

"What's wrong with you? Fight back!" Akane shouted before continuing her assault, all to no avail. 'Why can't I hit her? Is she reading my moves?'

Akane decided to try something new and went for a low kick, expected Ranma to be unprepared for that kind of dodge needed. However, Ranma jumped up and over, moving almost as if she was gliding. She landed behind Akane and tagged the back of her head before Akane even knew what had happened. Akane turned to look at Ranma, who smiled and gently laughed. Soon Akane started laughing, both girls sounding like they had enjoyed themselves and bonded a little.

"You know, you're good. Better than most I've seen at school." Akane commented.

"Thanks." Ranma said. "You could be better, but I'm just used to tougher stuff because of Pop-tcha."

"Well, I'm just glad you're a girl. I'd really hate to have to lose to a boy." Akane said for no real reason. She noticed a brief look of pain on Ranma's face. "Did I say something wrong?"

Ranma sighed. "What would you think if... well... I was a boy?"

Akane didn't reply right away. "I'd say... you're one feminine boy to have a body like that. By the way, why are you dressed like that?"

Ranma sighed again. "Something happened to my clothes in the rain. Happens all the time lately. I can't stop it-tcha."

"Try some new clothes then."

"I have. It doesn't make a difference."

Akane wiped off her forehead. "I'm going to go hop in the furo. Wanna join?"

Ranma shook her head. "No, that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Why not? We're both girls."

Ranma sighed again. "Got any hot water? You'll understand then. I just hope you won't hate me-tcha."

Akane didn't say anything for a bit, just stared at her. "O... kay, just a sec." She went into the kitchen, where Kasumi had resumed chopping up the watermelon. Nabiki was still chewing out Soun about the difference between boys and girls. "Hey Kasumi, is there any hot water ready?"

"Why?"

"Ranma wants some for some reason."

Okay then. How warm?" Kasumi asked as she reached for a glass.

"I dunno. Use your best judgment I guess."

Kasumi turned on the water and let it warm up. When it reached a warm temperature that she could still tolerate without burning herself, she filled the glass and handed it to Akane. "I'd like to see what she needs it for." Both girls went into the dojo to see what the fuss over warm water was about.

"Here you go Ranma." Akane said as she offered the glass.

Ranma took it, and by holding it could tell it was warm enough. "Please don't freak out with what you're about to see. It's not something I like either." Ranma then raised the glass and dumped half of the contents on her head. Long green hair shortened and turned black, held in a pigtail. The shape of the body and face went from shapely female to strong male. And the tiger-stripe bikini morphed into a red silk shirt and black combat pants. The only thing that didn't change was the white bandanna on the top of the head.

Akane and Kasumi gasped. Ranma had turned into a man.

'Oh my.' was all Kasumi could bring her mind to process.

'He's... a boy?' Akane thought in shock.

The look on Ranma's face showed he was greatly afraid of their reactions and ashamed of his situation. "I know this is bizarre. I can tell you about it, if you want me."

"Are you... really a boy?" Akane asked.

Ranma slowly nodded. "Yeah, this is my true form. Sorry about this."

"What happened? I mean, a person isn't born with this kind of trait." Kasumi asked.

"I wasn't born with this. It happened... can we sit down fer this with the rest of your family? I'd rather not tell the story more than once."

"Of course. I'd go tell them." Kasumi said before walking out.

Akane turned but kept her eyes on Ranma. He feared her reasons for this. "I hope ya don't hate me now and don't wanna think of me as a friend anymore."

Akane could hear the fear and desperation in his voice. "I don't hate you, and I'd like to hear more about this before I make up my mind on anything." Ranma nodded in acceptance, and both walked back into the sitting room.

Nabiki and Soun were brought there, and were very suprised to see a young man this time. "Hey, who's the hunk?" Nabiki asked, practically stripping him with her eyes.

"I'm Ranma Saotome. You'll understand in a bit." Confused, Nabiki and Soun took a seat, Nabiki by her sisters and Soun by the wall. Ranma looked around for the other member and saw the tiger-cow eating the sliced watermelon in the kitchen. "Hey Pop you shouldn't go helpin' yerself to other people's food." He went up to him and used the remaining hot water to get his attention. All of the Tendo's looked on in surprise as the animal became a clothed older man in a white gi with a bandanna on his head too. Soun recognized him as a balder, and maybe fatter, Genma Saotome.

"You shouldn't interrupt someone who's eating, boy." Genma said with a piece of watermelon hanging out of his mouth.

"This coming from the guy who tries ta take my food every time I eat?"

"Quit whining. You sound like a girl!" Genma said before grabbing his son by the collar and throwing him outside.

He landed in the koi pond, there were a few bubbles, and then he surfaced. But he surfaced as a green-haired girl in a bikini, and shook off some of the water. "Big mistake old man! Datcha!" When she yelled, fangs could be seen in her mouth.

"He's a girl again? How?" Kasumi asked.

Genma clenched his fist. "My own son, what a disappointment."

Ranma came up behind him quickly, so quickly that it looked like her feet weren't even touching the ground. She kicked him in the back and sent him flying into the koi pond. Genma surfaced as an irritated tiger-cow. "Who are you to talk? My old man's a cow-tcha."

"Dad, do you know anything about this?" Nabiki asked.

"No, but my friend wasn't always like this. This has to be new."

The tiger-cow looked like it was starting to get bigger. "Oh no you don't. Not here." Ranma said as she pointed at him. A few sparks formed around her hand, and a small bolt of lightning struck Genma's animal form. He spasmed in shock and collapsed unconscious on the ground, looking a little burnt and smoking. Ranma turned to the Tendo's. "Sorry about all that. He was about ta make things worse-tcha."

"What exactly are you?" Nabiki asked.

"Got any more hot water? This could take a while." Kasumi went and got her some more. Ranma used it to become male again, which still amazed the Tendo's to see. "Well, this all started back in China..."


	2. Ranma's Curse

"What exactly are you?" Nabiki asked.

"Got any more hot water? This could take a while." Kasumi went and got her some more. Ranma used it to become male again, which still amazed the Tendo's to see. "Well, this all started back in China..."

**Ch. 2 Ranma's Curse**

"Pop heard about some kind of legendary training ground in China that impressed him, so he figured we outta go check it out. So we swam to China and hiked-" Ranma started to explain.

"Wait, you swam to China?" Nabiki interrupted. "Wouldn't it have been easier to take a plane or even a boat?"

"Yeah, if we could afford it." Ranma replied. "Besides, Pop always insists that doing things the easy way is being weak." He then turned to give the unconscious old man in animal form a sour look. "Unless _he's_ the one who has to do it that is."

'Guess money's not something this guy has a lot of.' Nabiki thought to herself.

"Anyway, we got to western China and that's where it happened." Ranma began.

--flashback--

Ranma and Genma stood taking a breather and looking at their destination. They saw many small pools of water that looked like oversized puddles, all with at least one tall bamboo pole sticking out of them, sometimes two or three, all surrounded by some mountains that led to one of three ancient Chinese tribes. Greeting them was one portly Chinese man in a green uniform who had been expecting them thanks to a phone call by Genma to confirm the location of the grounds. Too bad Genma didn't bother to hear the warning in the call, or he might have reconsidered coming here.

"Welcome sirs to hidden training grounds Jusenkyo. Also called Grounds of Accursed Springs by neighboring tribes that use for training or punishment. Still in use today but not as much as long ago." The guide greeted them, speaking broken Japanese with a typical Chinese accent. It almost sounded stereotypical. "There much history to these grounds. Over one hundred springs here and every one have tragic story attached to it. Only the best fighters dare to train here and even they sometimes fall victim to Jusenkyo curse."

"Hmmph. You intimidated boy?" Genma asked, paying no mind to the mention of a curse. All he heard was 'only the best fighters dare to train here' and figured it was a good way to test Ranma's skills.

"Not all all. Didn't come all this way just ta chicken out now." Ranma said before he took his pack off, his thought process similar to Genma's at the moment. Genma did the same with his pack.

The guide was about to tell them exactly why and how the training ground was cursed, but before he could, they jumped on top of two separate poles and took careful stances. Needless to say, the guide was shocked as there had not been any visitors that didn't at least heed the warning in years. "What you doing? Sirs, very bad if you fall in spring."

Ranma and Genma ignored that, figuring he just meant it was against the point to get wet, which was obvious. "I'm not gonna go easy on you son." Genma warned, arms stretched out to balance himself.

"Heh, I wouldn't want you to." Ranma added, his arms more poised to retaliate but still balancing him.

"Sirs, get down from there. Bad idea to just--" The guide tried to warn them still, but paused when they started jumping and fighting in midair. The two fought in the way Saotomes specialize in for about three minutes before Ranma found an opening and kicked Genma. The bald man fell down into a spring and sank under the surface. "Ooh, not good. Mr. Customer fall in cursed spring."

"Hey Pop we done already?" Ranma asked, disappointed since his father wasn't getting up as quickly as he usually did in their spars.

Something jumped out of the water and landed on a bamboo pole. But it didn't look like Genma. Instead, it looked like the spawn of a tiger and a bovine. At seeing the resemblance to a tiger, Ranma started to panic, but not run. "Wha... what the heck is that?"

"He fall into Huuniunichuan." Guide answered. "Tragic story of creature part tiger and part cow that drown in there 3600 year ago. Now anyone that fall in spring take body of tiger-cow."

"What? Hey, you never said anything about-" Ranma shouted. Genma took the opportunity to sneak in another attack, believing the spar wasn't over yet just because he changed species all of a sudden. Ranma dodged and freaked out being since he still saw the tiger resemblance, thus he couldn't get a foothold and fell into another spring. The guide recognized that one right away, but didn't say anything until the young man (until then that is) came back to the surface.

When Ranma surfaced, he was too busy coughing up water to notice any change. When he wiped the water out of his eyes he could see again, and the first thing he could see was green to the side of his eyes. Wondering if he had been changed into anything, he fearfully touched the green stuff and saw it was hair. His hair. 'My hair is green? What has green hair?'

"Sorry younger customer. Tried to warn but you two no listen." The guide told him, walking towards him. "You fell in Aoninyannichuan. Tragic story of a female demon you Japanese call oni that drown there 2200 year ago. Now whoever fall in take body of young oni girl. Oddly, one of few springs that affect clothing too. Not know why."

Ranma's eyes widened at hearing the words 'take body of young girl', the oni part not registering in his mind. He reached for his white gi to get a good look at his chest to confirm this, but didn't feel it. Instead, he felt a pair of breasts held by something much like a bra. Ranma looked down and saw just that, and screamed.

"See? Now you young oni girl." The guide added.

Ranma climbed out of the water and saw he... she was wearing something that looked and felt like panties or the bottom half of a two piece swimsuit. Feeling all over _her_ body, _she_ confirmed it was true, he was now a she. A green-haired, well-figured, stubby-horned, barely dressed, she.

--end flashback--

The Tendo's were silent after hearing this. All of them had separate thoughts on his situation.

'Oh my, that must have been so awkward and disturbing for him.' Kasumi thought sympathetically.

'This could be profitable for me, if he stays long enough that is. And if not, then maybe I can get rid of Kuno someday by telling him those springs will help him.' Nabiki mused fiendishly.

'A boy with that kind of curse could be very perverted. He could even sneak his way into women's dressing rooms or bathing sections if he wanted to. But... he could have done that with me earlier when I offered to share the furo, but he didn't. So is he... _not _as perverted as the boys at school then?' Akane asked herself, unsure of what to think.

Soun chose to voice his thoughts. "I've heard about the legend of Jusenkyo, but never thought it was true. Until now. Why did you two go there without learning about it?"

"Pop was the one to find out about it and insist we go. I figured if he was willing to go all that way then it must be worth it. He never said anything about curses." Ranma answered.

"Where did he hear it from?" Akane asked.

Genma had recovered from being electrocuted and walked up to the walkway around the house. Still in tiger-cow form, he pulled a book out of his pack and placed it down in front of them all. Nabiki picked it up and noticed it was written mostly in Chinese. "You can't read Chinese, can you?"

Genma pulled out a sign that read 'Bingo'.

"And yet you went somewhere where everyone speaks and writes Chinese. Did you actually expect them all to understand Japanese?" Nabiki asked, astounded by the sheer stupidity of the idea.

"Yeah old man. Even I learned a few phrases. What's the big idea going somewhere that dangerous without findin' out about it?"

Genma used a different sign that read 'Quit whining. You sound like a girl' to hit Ranma into the koi pond again. When Ranma surfaced, the sign then read 'Were you not willing to risk your life for the art?'.

"My life yes. My manhood is another story-tcha." The Tendo's couldn't believe their eyes when they saw Ranma hover out of the water and fly without wings to start fighting with her cursed father.

Soun grabbed a tea kettle that had been left on the burner for a little long and poured the contents over Genma's head. Ranma backed off, still hovering, and Genma flailed his arms and groaned in pain. "So, if I got this curse right, the key to change is water, and hot water makes you your true form."

Genma panted after the transformation finished. "It needn't be _that_ hot."

Soun then looked at Ranma. "So cold water turns you into a girl, and hot water turns you back into a boy." He tried to douse Ranma, but she hovered away from the scalding liquid.

"Hot water, not boiling water!" Ranma told the Tendo patriarch.

Soun discarded the kettle and smiled. "Well, your situation isn't that bad after all. You can still be with one of my daughters." Soun then presented all three to the cursed youth. "My eldest daughter Kasumi, age nineteen. My middle daughter Nabiki, age seventeen. And my youngest daughter Akane, age sixteen. Pick whichever one you want for your fiancee."

Nobody said anything for about half a minute, and then Kasumi and Nabiki spoke up. "Akane would be the most suitable choice." Kasumi claimed.

"Uh huh. Couldn't agree more." Nabiki commented.

"What? Why me?" Akane asked.

"Well, you're not fond of boys, right?" Kasumi asked.

"Then you're in luck since he's half girl." Nabiki pointed out.

"You actually expect me to marry him?" Akane asked.

"If you don't want to I understand-tcha." Ranma said.

Akane turned to him. "It's nothing personal. But I don't even know you. I can't think of marrying you now."

"I feel the same way. I'm not looking for a wife either." Ranma explained with a shrug.

"Now you two, it's not like anyone's saying you have to be wed within the week. Right Father?" Kasumi asked, turning to her father for support.

Soun and Genma shared a worried look, which told the Tendo girls quite a bit. Nabiki narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you actually expected that to happen. I thought this was supposed to be an omiai. Did you really think we'd be willing to marry some guy just days after we met him?"

"Well, we need to ensure the future of the dojo." Soun stated. He crumbled a little when all three of his girls, even Kasumi, used a sort of 'be afraid, be very afraid' aura.

"Daddy, the dojo's fine. I do all the financial stuff remember? There's no mortgage or anything threatening to take the dojo away. So there's nothing to worry about." Nabiki stated confidently.

"Unless there's something you're not telling us." Kasumi added in a cold tone uncharacteristic of her.

"Well, the dojo hasn't been attracting any students lately. If Ranma took over with one of you being able to help him manage it then we could get more students in." Soun added to justify his plans.

"Or you could just start teaching again yourself." Nabiki countered.

"Yeah. I mean, I am good but I have no idea how ta teach others-tcha. And there's no way I'm teaching students the same way Pop taught me." Ranma added. By now the fact that she was floating didn't seem so important, but it would be brought up later.

"Hey it worked didn't it?" Genma argued.

Ranma gave her father a flat look. "We'd lose all students if I tried teachin' the Cat Fist ta anyone."

"Cat Fist?" Akane asked.

"It's a strong technique but the way ta learn it is brutal. I'd rather not say more-tcha." Ranma answered, not wanting to reveal his biggest weakness, his crippling fear of cats. So crippling that for the first few days in China after receiving the curses he couldn't be around his father that much when cursed. And Genma learned to use that to his advantage. When Ranma had enough, he mentally prepared himself to see Genma's other form as a cow rather than a tiger. It helped, but his first reaction when dealing with that form was still to stay away from it.

Soun saw he couldn't convince them to go along with Plan A, so he came up with a compromise. "Okay then, no wedding will be arranged so suddenly. But for the time being, Ranma's selected bride-to-be will be Akane. Sound good?"

"I think that might work." Nabiki said. Kasumi slowly nodded in agreement.

"But... but..." Akane tried to argue but couldn't find the words.

"Great! Now why don't we give the new couple some alone time to get better acquainted to each other?" Soun offered cheerfully. Before anyone could protest, everyone but Ranma and Akane had left the room, leaving them in an awkward situation.

Akane and Ranma just faced each other, not moving or saying anything to each other. "I'm not gonna make you marry me or nuthin, ya know." Ranma quietly told her, still hovering but looking like she was seated in the air.

"That's good. I'd kinda just like to just be friends for now." Akane replied.

Ranma smiled. "Glad to hear you didn't wanna stop being friends just cause I'm a guy-tcha."

"Well, you don't seem to be as perverted as the boys at my school, so I'll at least give you a chance. But I warn you, I'm the biggest anti-pervert in Nerima." Akane told her.

"I don't like perverts either. Plenty of guys have oggled this body before and it makes me sick." Ranma commented.

"Well don't go in public wearing a bikini then." Akane told him, semi-teasingly.

Ranma sighed. "It ain't that easy. The curse affects my clothes too, no matter what I'm wearing. I've changed clothes several times, but if I get wet, instant bikini-tcha. So far the only things that don't change are the bandanna ta hide my horns and an outer layer if I wear two layers of clothes."

"Horns?" Akane asked. 'Of course, oni have horns so he... she should have them too.'

Ranma took off her bandanna to reveal two stubby yellow horns sticking out of her green hair. "Turning into an attractive girl in a swimsuit is bad enough-tcha. I don't need people seeing horns too."

Akane nodded slowly. "Say, how are you able to float like that?"

Ranma looked down for an instant. "Oh, the guide told me that the oni that drowned in the spring could fly without wings and create lightning whenever it wanted to, as long as the horns stayed on it's head. The only part of this curse I actually like-tcha."

"Did he tell you why a Japanese demon was in China?" Akane asked.

Ranma shook her head. "Nope. Apparently Jusenkyo just keeps track of what drowns there, not why. He told me a demon from India called an asura drowned there too long ago, and a yeti did too. All sorts of weird things drown there-tcha. People, wild animals, farm animals, pets, birds, you name it. Even an octopus drowned. Now how on earth can an octopus drown?"

Akane blinked. "That actually sounds even less believable than an oni drowning in China." She got up and grabbed the tea kettle. "It's cooler now but still warm. Want to be a guy again?"

"Sure." Ranma said before placing her feet on the floor. It always hurt to turn into a guy while flying. The warm water made him male again and he relaxed. "As much as I like flying, I always feel better being me again."

"By the way, thanks for warning me instead of just sneaking into the furo for a peek." Akane said gratefully. "I probably would have wanted to drown you in the tub if I saw you as a guy there."

"Lucky for me then. Besides, once or twice during the trip here some guys tried to peek in on me as a girl. I know how irritating it is."

'Wow. He actually understands why being a pervert is bad. Finally, a guy I don't have to worry about.' Akane thought to herself, smiling.

'She sure is cute when she smiles.' Ranma thought happily as well.


	3. Furinkan High

Ranma and Genma had been staying at the Tendo dojo for three days now, in hopes that Ranma and Akane could bond. At the moment the two were doing their early morning training in the backyard.

"Not good enough boy." Genma declared before deliberately kicking his son into the koi pond.

**Ch. 3 Furinkan High**

"Mr. Saotome, Ranma, breakfast." Kasumi gently called.

Genma decided to stop the work out. "Well, that's one more win for me." He proudly told himself, only to get knocked into the koi pod himself by his cursed son/daughter who sneaked in behind him.

"Oh yeah?"

Before the two could bicker any more, they managed to get seated. Kasumi saw Genma's cursed form and got an idea. "Well, Mr. Saotome, since I'm not sure exactly what you can eat in that form, I've prepared this for you." She pulled out two trays, one with some raw meat, and the other with grass. "Are you a carnivore or herbivore?"

"It doesn't matter to him. Food is food and he can plow thru it like air-tcha." Ranma commented as she went into the kitchen for some hot water. As if to prove her right, Genma shoveled it all into his mouth. "I think part of his curse is he's always hungry like that."

"Well, better eat quickly and change since you've got to be in school soon." Soun stated from behind his newspaper.

"School?" Ranma, male form now, asked his father after he entered the dining room and sat on a cushion at the low table.

'Well we are going to be staying here a while.' Genma answered with a sign.

"It's the same one me and Akane go to." Nabiki popped her head into the room the two Saotomes were in, dressed in her school uniform and carrying her bag. She then sat down and began eating from her bowl of miso soup. Akane joined in right after her, dressed the same way.

After a few minutes of eating Genma held up another sign. 'Oh, by the way, you'll be in the same class as your fiancee.'

Ranma, who took the time to return to normal form, read it along with everyone else. "Pop, I'm not sure I can actually call her that."

"Nonsense, of course she's your fiancee because of the arrangement." Soun countered.

"But I can't go around school with a fiancee!" Akane mentioned. "I have it hard enough there as it is! This will just make things worse!"

"You've been handling it just fine all this time. If anything this could be beneficial to both of you." Soun stated. He knew full well what Akane was referring to, and foresaw only two possible outcomes. Either the boys at school would stop pursuing her which would free her for Ranma more and bring them close together, or they'd get tougher which would help her training and maybe persuade Ranma to defend her more and still bring them close together. It was win-win for him if nothing else.

Ranma, ignorant of the whole hentai horde ordeal, was confused but said nothing at the moment. He might have, had Genma not chose that moment to try and take some of his breakfast while Ranma was distracted. The pig-tailed young man reacted in his normal manner of fighting back to defend his food.

The Tendo's watched it in surprise. "Ranma, Mr. Saotome, that's not proper behavior at the table." Kasumi gently scolded.

Genma just ignored her, but Ranma didn't. "Sorry, but this idiot always does this. Talk ta him about it."

Nabiki ignored this for a little longer and finished eating. "Well, I'm done. I'll be back later."

"Wait a minute Nabiki. I'll go with you." Akane said as her older sister began to walk out.

Nabiki just briefly turned to her younger sister. "Why? Ranma is your fiancee remember? You should show him how to get to school and your classroom." Not bothering to hear a response, she simply left the house.

Ranma and Akane gave each other uncertain but not inhospitable looks. The two just finished eating what was left and then headed off for school in awkward silence. Soun and Genma kept watch on them until they were out of sight, with Genma chewing on some remaining grass, both men praying things went well for their children. Kasumi brought some hot water in for Genma when he finished, and the bald man decided he needed to see more.

Ranma was walking atop a fence by a canal with Akane walking on the sidewalk. Both had a lot on their minds about what could possibly happen today, and in both of their cases it was generally the same.

"Listen, we're not getting married right?" Akane asked.

Ranma just shrugged. "Not something I'm planning on."

"So we're not saying a word about what our fathers are planning, okay?" Akane asked.

"Didn't plan to."

"And you might not want to hang around me at school either. Wouldn't be a good idea." She advised, thinking of all the trouble he could stir if the hentai horde saw her getting chummy with some new guy.

Ranma took this as a dismissal. "Fine, if ya don't want me around don't worry about it. Not like I can't handle being without ya there to hold my hand for me." Akane might have said something back, but was surprised to see Genma in human form run along the fence and smack his son in the back of the head. "Ow. Whaddya do that for?"

"You're in no position to be fickle with women boy. The fate of the school depends on it." Genma argued. 'And even more importantly, my retirement plan does too.' "Listen Ranma, I'm only going to say this once." But before he could say more, he was caught by surprise by a leg sweep, sending him into the canal.

"Come on Pop weren't you gonna say somethin'?" Ranma taunted when his father surfaced, leaning too far off the fence but amazingly able to keep his balance. Genma jumped up and tried to hit him back, but Ranma did a spinning back-jump to evade it. "Ha! Not good enough, old man." As soon as he placed both feet on the sidewalk, a short old woman with a ladle began washing her walkway, splashing him from head to toe in the process. Ranma didn't know what bothered him more: that he was now a wet she in a bikini in public, or that Akane had been standing next to him and not even a single drop of water had touched her.

"Something wrong?" Akane sarcastically asked.

"Just my luck datcha. Now I need a bath."

"Hey, you don't have time for that!" Akane yelled as Ranma started to fly back to the dojo.

"Ya think I wanna start school as a girl?"

"But all you need is hot water. I know where you can get some that's on the way to school."

Ranma complied and Akane led her to Tofu's clinic. Once there, the young Tendo decided it probably wouldn't be a good idea for Tofu to see the oni girl or how the curse worked. For now at least. Maybe when they had more time to explain the situation. So Akane told Ranma to wait by the wall surrounding the clinic and stay out of sight while she went in and asked for some hot water. Tofu wasn't there at the moment, but someone else there who knew Akane was willing to get her some hot water.

Ranma sighed, feeling bored and uncomfortable. Then she felt something rattle beside her and turned to see what had approached all of a sudden. She panicked briefly to see a skull rather than a face, and jumped onto the top of the wall. Only then did she notice the man holding the skeleton. He looked young, maybe a few years older than Kasumi, and wore glasses with a dark blue overcoat.

"Pardon me for startling you. Don't worry, this is just Betty, my display skeleton." The newcomer said politely. Ranma calmed her nerves and got back down on the ground slowly. "Excuse me, but why is a young lady like yourself wearing such an outfit in the city at this time of year?"

"Hey Ranma I got the... oh, hi Doctor Tofu." Akane said as she walked up to Ranma with a tea kettle. As soon as she got close to her she placed it on her head and bowed to the doctor.

"Good morning Akane. You feeling well today?"

"Y... yeah, no new injuries or anything like that." She bashfully answered, unable to make eye contact with him. Ranma saw this and took the opportunity to get out of sight and change, wondering why the Tendo girl was acting so shy all of a sudden.

After saying good bye to Tofu, the two sixteen year-olds raced off to school, with Ranma on top of another fence. Akane kept wondering how he could do such a thing. "Hey, who was that guy?" Ranma curiously asked.

"Docotr Tofu, the chiropractor. And my family's physician."

"He's a martial artist too right?" Ranma asked.

"How could you tell?" Akane asked back.

"I could tell. Covering his presence like that, I didn't even know he was there until he wanted me to."

"Yeah, he is pretty good. Though you'd never tell just by looking at him." Akane commented. "And he's a great doctor and such a nice guy. He always helps me whenever I get hurt."

"But isn't he a man?" Ranma asked as he hopped off the fence and got next to her.

"So?"

"Well, from what I've heard, I thought you hated men." Ranma stated. He had been given a few warnings about Akane from her sisters about her general attitude towards anything with a y chromosome except her father. They also warned her how she tended to react to what they do, with violent hits and harsh yells. Too bad they never mentioned the reason.

Akane huffed and frowned. "That's right. I hate men!" She said the last part louder than the first because the gates of Furinkan High came into view and she knew exactly what would be on the other side.

Ranma came to a stop at the sight of a literal stampede of men wearing various outfits, but Akane plowed right thru. Akane yelled for them to leave her alone while they yelled various sayings, none of which Ranma could hear coherently. He got out of the way to watch from the top of the surrounding wall. "What the...?"

"Ranma!" Nabiki's voice could be heard shouting. Ranma looked up to see her in a second floor room with a few girls next to her. "You better get inside now!"

"But what about...?" Ranma asked, pointing to Akane.

"She's fine! She does this everyday; she knows exactly what she's doing!" Nabiki told him before he could argue more.

"Your poor sister." One of Nabiki's classmates commented sympathetically.

Ranma looked to notice that Akane had knocked all the attacking men flat on their faces or backs. Akane huffed and brushed her hair back behind her. "Dammit! Every day they do this. You'd think they'd learn by now."

"Indeed, but it seems each one of them hopes for the honor of asking you out on the eve that he finally defeats you, Akane Tendo." Some new guy approached, wearing a dark blue hakama and light blue haori and carrying a bokken and rose, looking rather confident or vain.

"What kinda garbage you spoutin' off?" Ranma asked, jumping off the wall and landing next to Akane.

"Stay out of this." Akane told him.

"You're acting rather familiar with Akane. Pray tell, who might you be?" The bokken wielder demanded to know.

"Well I'm-"

"Wait, but is it not customary for one to give his own name first? Be forewarned, for I am the captain of Furinkan's kendo club and rising star of the kendo world, Tatewaki Kuno. But my peers call me the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High."

Ranma gave him a flat unimpressed look while Akane gave him an irritated look. Nabiki had the same expression as she rested her head in her right hand.

"Did he just call himself 'Blue Thunder'?" One of Nabiki's classmates asked.

"Have you ever heard anyone call him that?" Another asked.

"I've heard many names for him, but never anything like that. Or as flattering." Nabiki stated.

Kuno pointed his bokken back at Ranma. "Now, who are you and what is your connection to Akane?"

"My... connection?" Ranma asked himself, not sure what to say in response.

"He's just staying with us Kuno, nothing more!" Akane irritably yelled, always outraged at the kendoist's pompous attitude regarding he and her.

"St... staying with you?" Kuno repeated, then got mad. "I will not allow some vile cur to reside with the beauteous Akane so he can take advantage of her at his convenience." He moved to strike but Ranma did a back flip to avoid it. "So you have some talent to be able to dodge my strike. Again, what is your name?"

"Fine, I'm Ranma Saotome, heir to the Saotome school of Anything Goes martial arts. And I accept your challenge." He took a ready stance, knowing his odd guy would try to defeat him for some reason only he understood.

"Ranma stay out of this." Akane ordered.

"He wants ta fight me and isn't going to leave till he does. Whaddya want me to do? Run away?"

Kuno rushed to hit him again and Ranma pulled to the right. He tried to kick his opponent's legs out from under him but Kuno stepped back in time. Kuno stabbed to stab the pig-tailed martial artist but Ranma used his fist to deflect the wooden sword.

"Hey, is someone actually fighting Kuno?" A different classmate of Nabiki's asked as he came up to the window. She just nodded, not wanting to miss seeing this.

The fight continued for a few more seconds before the sound of light thunder was heard overheard. Too bad Ranma and Kuno were more focused on their spar than that. Akane did hear it and hoped this could stop before it rained. Sadly that wouldn't happen, for just as soon as the rain began to hit the ground, Ranma and Kuno were about to hit each other, with either bokken to the throat or fingers to the forehead.

Fortunately, regarding the curse, rain was a slow-working trigger so Ranma didn't change right away. But there was no way to avoid transforming into an oni right in front of Kuno and several observing students. Worried for him, Akane almost didn't notice Genma in his cursed form charging at his son, knocking Kuno out, and taking Ranma inside before anyone could see anything.

Akane just stood there getting wet, staring at where Genma had gone to, before she snapped out of her stupor and went to go check them out.

"Was that a tiger?" One of Nabiki's friends asked someone next to her.

"Looked like it." Nabiki commented.

Ranma saw that she was inside a gym storage room and was in her female form. Genma found a water fountain in it and started filling the tea kettle he brought with him with hot water. "Why that lousy... if it hadn't started raining, I'd have knocked him out good-tcha."

"Don't be so sure about that." Akane said, resting her arms on an open window sill.

"Whaddya mean?" Ranma asked as she shook some water off her arms, legs, and hair.

"I mean, your throat."

Since Ranma couldn't actually see her own throat without a mirror, she felt it instead. On the left side she felt some soreness. "A bruise? But he never even touched me."

"Exactly. If he had, you'd be breathing thru a hole in your neck." Akane paused when she saw Ranma snatch the kettle from his father and use it to return to normal. "I'd say it was a close match, don't you?"

Now male, Ranma used a towel lying on a pile of folded ones and started off. "Oh I don't know. Maybe, maybe not." He didn't actually look at her when he said that, thinking about the little thing he managed to do to his opponent before they had to stop.

Up in Nabiki's class Kuno had managed to return before the teacher and dressed in his actual uniform. When she saw him, she giggled and showed her classmate and best customer a hand mirror. He frowned when he saw the small bruise that spelled out the word 'bufoon' in English. "And you didn't even feel him touch you?" Nabiki asked curiously.

"And I thought that Ranma Saotome might indeed be a formidable adversary. But he can't even spell." Kuno then went up to the chalkboard and wrote 'booffun'. "_This _is the right way." The sound of Nabiki writing something too drew his eye to her own word 'buffoon'.

"Actually, this is."

"You know I hate you."

"Ooh I'm so scared." The middle Tendo daughter sarcastically replied.


	4. Kuno's Behavior

"Class, we have a new student joining us today." The first period teacher of homeroom 1-F said to his class while Ranma stood next to his desk with his hands behind his back. "Says here his name's Ranma Saotome and he's been traveling around for quite some time. And has recently come back from a trip to China even."

Several of the students sounded impressed but said nothing, and the teacher added another statement. "However, since you and Miss Tendo were both unneccessarily late, the both of you should go wait out in the hall."

**Ch. 4 Kuno's Behavior**

"What? Fiancee? He's... her... fiancee?" Kuno stammered in a mix of shock and appallment. Everyone else in the room was just shocked rather than appauled by what Nabiki had just mentioned when someone happened to ask who Ranma was.

"Yeah. My dad and his dad decided. Akane's going to marry Ranma." Nabiki told Kuno to clarify the issue.

"Why that lowlife Saotome! I'm gonna--" Kuno shouted with raised clenched fists, unable to finish since the teacher butted in firmly.

"Mister Kuno, go stand out in the hall right now and be quiet!"

Ranma and Akane meanwhile stood outside their own classroom next to each other holding two buckets of water each. The hallway windows and door to their room behind them were closed so no one could hear anything they said if they spoke quietly.

"So what exactly was all that about back there?" Ranma asked.

"Oh, that idiot Kuno's the one responsible for all that crap. After the beginning of the year he gathered all the boys he could together and made some kind of declaration. The gist of it was that he demanded that no boy could ask me out on a date unless they defeated me in savage combat and he would permit no other alternatives, his words."

"Seriously?"

Akane nodded. "Sadly yes, and you saw what happened because of that. It happens every morning and it drives me crazy. Kuno himself gets involved too but I win every time no matter what."

Ranma looked away. "Well, sometimes when a guy fights a girl, he... lets up a lot."

Akane frowned. "Are you saying I'm not good enough to be taking seriously?"

"No, but for guys it's easier for us ta let the girl then ta beat her up."

"Maybe you should fight me for real sometime. Then we'll see how much you'll let up." Akane insisted.

"Heh, no thanks."

Akane's frowned deepened. "And why the hell not?" She was trying to keep her voice down to avoid drawing attention to themselves and getting in further trouble.

"Good enough or not, you're still a girl. I don't fight girls." Ranma calmly answered.

Akane's frown turned to a wicked smirk and she set one of her buckets down and held the remaining one in both hands. "Well what if you're a girl?"

Ranma backed away. "Don't even think about it."

A wave of water came from out of nowhere but missed both Ranma and Akane, who looked to see Kuno holding a now empty bucket. For some bizarre reason he was wearing his kendo outfit again. And not looking happy. "Saotome you fiend. I will not accept this revelation!" Apparently he had no qualms regarding whether or not he was heard in the classrooms.

"What now?" Ranma irritably asked thanks to the near transformation.

"You're attempting to entrap Akane for your own devious intentions!" Kuno shouted, maybe louder than before. Ranma and Akane panicked, both realizing he must have heard about the family agreement somehow, most likely from Nabiki. They both waved their hands and shushed him, pleading with him to not say more. Sadly the second year student wasn't someone who took most hints so he kept shouting. "So I cannot allow this so called engagement between you two to continue one moment longer!"

At that, the windows opened and everyone in Class 1-F had something to say or ask at the same time, irregardless of the teacher's lessons. This was just too captivating for them to ignore. For the most time the overall response was "What? Akane are you really engaged? You?"

"Wait, it's not true." Akane answered without yelling.

"Yeah, it was our dad's idea, not ours." Ranma added.

This all fell on deaf ears, especially those of Kuno. "Saotome I shall vanquish you!" He shouted as he tried to hit his target with a bokken. Ranma dodged and decided this was no place for a fight, so he ran down the hall to take this elsewhere, with Kuno giving chase. Akane and the rest of the class followed, ignoring the warnings from the teacher and another faculty member who had been passing thru.

Kuno made another attack, much too close for Ranma's liking. So he figured he needed to go somewhere more open right then. Seeing an open window, he jumped out, and Kuno followed before whatever rational thought process he had resurfaced and he realized he was falling.

Akane panicked and leaned out to see them. "But this is the third floor!"

"Don't worry Akane! This is nothing to me!" Ranma shouted up to her, then actually looked at where he would be landing and screamed at the sight of a pool. "Water! Why does it always hafta be water?"

A large splash was inevitable, and out of everyone looking at the pool, Akane was the only one actually worried about what just happened. "Ranma?" She asked herself quietly.

While underwater Ranma, in his oni form, tried to get away from Kuno before he noticed. She had to swim fast since she couldn't fly underwater. She reached the bottom of the pool, hoping she could rebound off the bottom and get enough momentum to burst out of the water and fly away before anyone could actually see her. 'Gotta hurry.'

Sadly, before she could get away, Kuno grabbed ahold of her tightly, bringing her to the surface so he could breathe. With the water still in his eyes, he couldn't see his target clearly. "A-ha! Got you now fiend." His expression changed from feeling victorious to stunned when he accidently groped her breast.

Ranam got outraged at the quick feel and growled. "YOU LOWLIFE PERVERT! DATCHA!" She could have probably just grabbed his shoulders and thrown him over her shoulder like a judo artist, but instead it felt much more natural for her to electrocute him. The resulting shock, in water, practically made Kuno rocket out off the pool and crash into the school wall with singe marks. There was also a bright explosion in the water at the same time that gave Ranma the chance to fly away unnoticed.

"What just happened?" A random student asked.

A few commented, but Akane stayed silent. 'That had to hurt. If I didn't know Kuno, I might feel bad for him.' Shifting her thoughts to Ranma, she sneaked away to find some hot water.

Kuno by absolutely no known explainable means managed to regain conscienceness soon after the force of the impact and jolt wore off. "A woman? That was definitely a woman. Which must mean... you vile fiend!"

Ranma had settled on a tree branch away from possible witnesses, within a small thicket surrounding one of the school's borders. She used a very small surge of voltage over her whole body to make the water evaporate, thus drying herself. "That creep. He didn't hafta grope like that-tcha." She mumbled. "Guess he knows about me now. And I bet he just won't keep his mouth shut about it."

"What were you thinking?" Akane's voice could be heard, making the green-haired girl look down to see the youngest Tendo just standing there with her hands behind her back. "Jumping into the pool like that? How could you not notice?"

"Well how was I supposed to know?" Ranma taunted sticking her tongue out.

"Fine. If you're gonna be like that, I guess you won't need this." Akane responded while revealing a tea kettle.

"Hey, gimme that-tcha!" Ranma shouted, reaching out her arm in hopes she would toss the warm water container.

Unable to resist toying with the gender-changer, Akane turned around but didn't walk away. "Well, maybe I will and maybe I won't." She was caught off guard by Ranma landing gently right in front of her.

"You forgot I could do that didn't ya?"

Before she could take the kettle, Kuno managed to stammer his way into view, his hair looking more appropriate on Einstein now thanks to the shock he got. "Ah Akane, have you perchance seen where that coward Saotome fled to?"

"Excuse me?" Akane asked, no longer trying to hide the kettle from Ranma's reach but instead trying to hide Ranma from Kuno's view.

"That coward fled from me with his tail between his legs and distracted me with a maiden who happened to be taking a swim at the time. He used underhanded deception and I must find him to placate him for it." Kuno explained as he saw the situation.

Akane gave him a dry look. She didn't know whether to be glad the wannabe samurai didn't notice the curse, or bothered by the fact Ranma's lightning in water only fazed him. By all rights and even the laws of nature Kuno should be dead by now. So either Ranma's lightning wasn't lethal or Kuno was a level above human cockroach.

Ranma was just plain irritated by the accusation. "Somebody oughta placate you instead. Datcha."

Akane turned to look at the youngest Saotome when she noticed the feminine voice. "You haven't changed yet."

"Like I can do that in front of him." Ranma replied.

"Go then. I'll buy you time." Akane told him before taking a stance before Kuno. "Upperclassman Kuno, I challenge you."

"Ah, never thought I'd see the day when you, fair Akane, would challenge me to a match." Kuno stated, sounding more flattered than surprised. "Very well, and if you best me I shall reward you with a lovely evening together. So I'll lose with all my might." He got into his own battle stance, bokken ready to be used.

'This is a lose-lose situation for me if ever I saw one.' Akane thought. 'Just hurry up Ranma and get outta here.'

Kuno's eyes were immediately drawn to the new girl who was trying to walk away inconspicously. The only word he could think of to desribe her was 'exotic'. Her green hair that almost looked natural rather than dyed, her curves and full body, and of course her bold and captivating outfit. She was the most unique thing he had ever seen in his life, living or not. He swiftly came closer to her. "My apologies miss for not noticing you before. That was rather rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself."

"Save it buster I've already heard it and once was enough-tcha." Ranma countered while backing away a few steps.

"Ah, I'm flattered that my name is so well known all beautiful women know and come to me."

Ranma and Akane both looked disgusted at hearing this. Ranma for being basically hit on by a guy, and Akane for hearing another one of his pompous beliefs. Ranma reacted by punching the upperclassman in the jaw, making him step back and try to strike involuntarily. Ranma blocked and did a high kick to Kuno's jaw too, briefly pausing in the air when she did.

'This girl... is as skilled as Akane is. No, maybe even more skilled.' Kuno thought in amazement as he fell on his back, dropping his bokken.

Ranma caught the wooden sword before it hit the ground and twirled it without reason. "Heh, and guess what pal, Ranma Saotome's even better than me. Datcha." She then dropped the bokken and started walking away, Akane following. "Let's go home Akane."

"Umm... school hasn't ended yet Ranma. And you still need to change back."

Ranma stopped and thought her words over. "Dammit."

* * *

The next day went by with little incident. The hentai horde kept attacking Akane with renewed vigor, obviously hoping to impress her more than Ranma ever could. He was greatly tempted to assist her, out of common courtesy if nothing else, but she put her foot down hard on the matter. She insisted that this was her fight and she wasn't going to act helpless and let some guy fight for her. So Ranma had to relent to just watching her beat the assailants, but planning on jumping in should things get too rough or uncalled for.

The day after, Kuno approached Nabiki. "Nabiki, do you know anything about the green-haired girl that your sister seems to be acquainted with?"

"Oh her? Yeah I know her. So what?"

"Can you give this to her on my behalf since I have yet to see her since the previous time?" He asked, handing her a letter in an envelope.

Nabiki took it. "I suppose. But it'll cost you 1000 yen." He handed it over without resistance and left.

* * *

"Huh? 'To the green-haired bikini girl'?" Ranma, male, read the beginning letter Nabiki gave him out loud after she got back home.

"Yeah, he wanted to tell your female half something. I don't think he believes you're the same person." Nabiki stated. 'Wonder how long it'll take him to find out. I'd place bets if everyone else was informed too. But Kasumi asked me to not sell info on his curse or reveal it for free, so I got to keep his secret. Just gotta wait until people find out on their own.'

Ranma looked over the rest. "'Meet me in the school field this Saturday at 10:00 AM.' He must be issuing a challenge."

"Remember, he'll want your female form, so wear a second layer this time." Nabiki advised.

Ranma nodded. Truthfully, he wanted to wear a second layer of clothing more often to avoid just wearing a bikini. But there were two problems with that. One, he didn't have that much clothing to make it a regular habit in the first place. And two, the extra cloth made his movements in martial arts a little more constricted than he was comfortable with. But for something like this, it was more than worth it.

* * *

Saturday came and Ranma stood in Furinkan High's field, wearing a blue silk shirt and black fighter pants over her bikini, and a white bandanna over her horns. Kuno showed up and faced her. "I'm glad to see you arrived miss."

"No sword?"

"I don't need a sword for what I've called you here for."

Ranma groaned, thinking he was taking her lightly. "Oh yeah?"

Kuno nodded then threw something to here quickly. Acting on reflex, Ranma tried to deflect it but ended up catching it instead. 'It' turned out to be a bouquet of roses, greatly confusing Ranma. "I love you." Kuno then turned and walked away.

Ranma collapsed to her knees and just stared. 'Did he just...? I think I'm gonna be sick."

* * *

That night, Ranma had a nightmare. At first he saw himself bathing in a wide pool, or maybe a sea, of hot water. Then a gigantic Kuno appeared from the horizon and gave Ranma a look he didn't like. "I love you." Kuno told him, sounding and looking imposing.

"Hey! Open your eyes you idiot! I'm a..." Ranma shouted, but as soon as he said 'I'm a...' his voice became feminine. He looked down at himself to see a pair of breasts and the reflection in the water showed the change was complete. However this time she was naked rather than bikini-clad. "What the? But I'm in hot water!"

"I love you." Kuno repeated, reaching out his large hand for her.

Ranma screamed and tried to jump out of the water to fly away. "This can't be real!"

Kuno's hand grabbed her and brought her to his face. "I love you."

Ranma screamed, and then woke up, bolting upright on his futon in a cold sweat, panting deeply, and feeling nauseous.

So the next morning he went to school with Akane, as soon as he saw Kuno ready and waiting for Akane he planted his foot hard into his face, with Akane doing the same thing. "Hey, I told you not to interfere."

"That was for me, not you." Ranma said back, still revolted by the whole thing.

The two didn't say anymore as they rushed right into the building, avoiding the hentai horde instead of fighting it off for once.


	5. Rough Day

"What's this?" Nabiki asked after Kuno placed a stuffed panda doll on her desk.

"A panda. What does it look like to you?"

**Ch. 5 Rough Day**

"Thanks but it's not my style." Nabiki said while handing the doll back to Kuno and returning to drinking from a small juice box she sneaked in before class officially started.

"Did I say it was for you Nabiki? No, this gift goes to the girl that has ensnared my affections, the green-haired girl." Kuno told her, sounding just as serious as he always had.

Nabiki's eyes almost got too large for their sockets and she spewed her juice all over her annoying classmate's face. "Now look what you made me do." She reprimanded after coughing a bit.

"What I made you do?" Kuno repeated.

"Give it up Kuno. You don't want that girl, trust me."

"And why should I trust a mercenary of all people?"

Nabiki arched an eyebrow and grinned slyly. "Because I'm the only one you know who knows that girl and doesn't try to pound you on sight."

"Just tell me how I can see her today."

"Well, if you want to give her your panda, take it to Ranma Saotome. That's the best method for you." Nabiki told him. "I know it sounds odd, but it's a more effective way than thru me."

"Just what connection does he have to her?" Kuno asked.

"They're... siblings in a way. And a lot alike." Nabiki answered. "Y'know I gotta admit this new trend of yours is surprising me. Can't believe you would just leave Akane like that for a new girl." Kuno said nothing, and that said quite a bit to the middle Tendo daughter, who looked at him unhappily. "You're _not_ going to two-time her!"

"Two-timing is an ugly thing." Kuno replied. "Akane, so kind and pure. And the green-haired girl, full of fiery energy. Both so grand I can deny neither. Would you call me deceitful to openly desire them both?"

"No, I'd call that two-timing. Plain and simple."

"Alas, that is what my heart decrees. Perchance, do you have any photographs of the green-haired girl available to go along with my Akane collection?"

Nabiki wearily sighed. "Sorry Kuno-baby, but my camera's no good for now. So no pictures for a while."

--Flashback--

Ranma had been accidentally sprayed by Kasumi that morning with the hose when she was watering the plants, triggering the chance. "Oh my. Sorry Ranma."

Ranma might have said it was no big deal, but the sound of a shutter caught her attention. Enraged at yet another peeper who couldn't resist a provocative girl, Ranma decided to have a stern word with them. Expecting to find some kind of shady boy hiding or trying to run, she was surprised to find Nabiki leaning against the house holding her camera like she was bird-watching.

"Thanks for the pose Ranma. That one was a keeper."

Ranma blinked a lot. "You mean... you're into girls?"

Nabiki face-faulted. 'How could that...? Well, I guess I did say that the wrong way. Better clarify before he spreads that around campus.' She then got back on her feet. "Let me make one thing clear Saotome. I don't swing that way."

"So what was that about?"

"Sort of a hobby of mine. I take pictures and if I can make a few bucks off them I don't mind."

Ranma frowned. "Don't even think about showing any pictures of this body to anyone-tcha!"

Nabiki wasn't intimidated. "And how exactly are you going to stop me?"

"I can do this." Ranma said as she pointed at Nabiki's camera and electrocuted it, frying it and the film completely. Nabiki dropped it before she could feel the shock.

"Hey! You can't do that!"

Ranma shrugged. "Just did. You were invading my privacy and I'm sick ta death of people doing that when I'm like this. I have the right ta privacy if I want-tcha."

"But that was _my _camera!" Nabiki angrily countered.

"Just get a new one. It was a disposable anyway, so no real lose." Ranma then left to get some hot water.

'Maybe it was a disposable, but that's not the point Saotome. I'll get you back for this.'

--End Flashback--

'Oh yeah. Once I get a new camera later today, he's in for several... embarrassing moments.' Nabiki thought evilly. "Like I said Kuno, give the panda to Ranma if you want that girl to get it." Even with her Ice Queen mask on, it was hard for her to not laugh at the humor in the situation.

* * *

"And why are you giving me this?" Ranma asked Kuno after the upperclassman handed his a stuffed panda.

"It's not for you, dolt. It's for the green-haired girl I felt some time ago and Nabiki claims that you're the best way for her to get my token of affection."

Ranma was shocked and dropped the doll, his nightmare flashing in his mind again. Usually nightmares didn't last that long in his memory, but this particular one wasn't fading away so easy. Like another one he had shortly after he got cursed where a bunch of faceless men were trying to rape his female form and he/she couldn't electrocute them.

'Ugh... turning into an oni wouldn't be so bad if I just stayed male. Guys like this nut job make my skin crawl.' Ranma thought, then kicked up the panda doll, caught it, and placed it back in Kuno's hands. "Word of advice Kuno: don't get involved with her. You won't like it." He then walked away without waiting to hear a response. After he rounded the corner, a small amount of water fell on him from above, triggering the change. 'What the hell?'

"Hey, what if someone was down there?" A girl asked from the second story.

Another girl who had been holding a vase to empty is just shrugged. "Hopefully they saw it coming. Besides it's not like they can't dry off."

Ranma heard this and groaned. 'Better get outta here before those two actually decide to look down now.'

"Saotome, what did you mean by... oh, green-haired girl! How great it is to see you." Kuno started as he followed the gender-changer, only to be relieved to see his newest infatuation. Ranma stepped aside to avoid his bear hug. "Oh don't be so shy."

"I'm not! I don't like you!"

"Just can't keep yourself out of trouble, can you?" Nabiki asked as she came into view, arms crossed and mouth in a sneaky grin.

"You know this guy! Tell him to knock this crap off-tcha!" Ranma demanded.

Nabiki shrugged. "And why should I?" She was really enjoying this on several levels.

"Because if I have to shock this guy, I can't guarantee you won't accidentally get hurt too." Ranma told her.

Nabiki blinked. 'Actually, that's a good point. Oh well, better stop the fun.' She sighed and stepped in front of Kuno before he could advance any further on Ranma. "Listen Kuno, you might not want to piss her off. And if you keep doing this, you will."

"What does though mean?" Kuno asked in his usual annoying way. Ranma left while he was occupied to go get some hot water.

'I guess the only real way to get this loon to stop would be to explain the curse.' Nabiki thought. "Let me put it this way. You remember how I said she was connected to Ranma? Well, her body, her mind, her soul, all his. Get the picture?"

Kuno said nothing, but his expression was anything but understanding. Nabiki started getting worried about what was going thru his mind and waved her hand in front of his face. "Hello? Earth to Kuno baby? You in there?"

"THAT DISPICABLE LOWLIFE!" Kuno screamed to the heavens, frightening away some birds, and then ran off to find the male Ranma with intent to kill written all over him.

"Houston we have a problem." Nabiki commented to herself.

* * *

Ranma had just turned back into a boy shortly before an enraged Kuno found him coming out of the gym locker room. "DIE SAOTOME!"

Dodging the blow, only one thought crossed Ranma's mind: 'Something tells me Nabiki didn't quite get the message across.' He vocalized this a different way. "Whaddya want now?"

"You've gone so far as to entrap that fair maiden to your will. I can see it now." Kuno angrily answered. He just then imagined Ranma acting lecherously as he tore the green-haired girl's clothes off and claimed she was his property, which she meekly agreed to out of fear. "And I've no doubts you intend the same for the beauteous Akane. You must perish, enslaver of women!"

"What the heck are ya talkin' about?" Ranma shouted as he tried to dodge each blow from the swinging bokken.

"What's going on... whoa." Akane said to herself as she heard some commotion and saw exactly what it was. She stayed behind a decorative stone post to avoid getting involved but kept an eye on the fight.

"I shall fell you and free her!" Kuno repeated with another swing which Ranma jumped over like a jump rope.

Ranma then kicked Kuno in the chest with both feet. "Just forget about her! Got it?" When he moved away to land, Kuno struck again and managed to nick Ranma's left side by his abdomen, tearing his shirt and a bit of skin. Ranma made a small moan of pain while Akane gasped. He managed to land on his feet, albeit a little wobbly, and Kuno rushed at him yet again. Ranma got out of the way by rolling backwards towards the stone mortar, seeing Akane there and coming to a stop on his head. 'Akane?'

"Just so you know, even if you're right about him letting up when fighting me, when Kuno fights a male opponent, he can be really skilled."

"And just so you know, blue panties don't really suit you." Ranma replied.

Akane kicked him like a football. "Like tiger-print is any better?!"

Ranma spun in the air and saw he was returning towards Kuno. "The game ends. Strike strike strike strike strike!" The bokken came at Ranma repeatedly almost too fast to actually be seen, adding more cuts to his clothes and skin. Behind him the stone post cracked and crumbled from the air pressure, making Akane gasp.

"Out of the way!" Ranma shouted, turning to look at her just then.

"I have you!" Kuno shouted as he took the opportunity to lash at Ranma's head from behind.

"Eyes front idiot!" Akane yelled to Ranma.

Just when it looked like Ranma was able to take a rather nasty blow, he blocked the bokken with a fist and kicked Kuno repeatedly all over the front of him, his leg a blur. Ranma then landed on the ground with his hands and flipped upright. For a moment Kuno just stood there, looking unfazed, and then he just collapsed like a house of cards while Ranma stood triumphant.

"How did you...?" Akane asked, then looked for herself, turning Kuno onto his back. She saw footprints imprinted on him across his chest, face, and abdomen, and it looked like they would surely bruise. "Wow. Each blow hit a vulnerable spot. And I barely even saw it."

"Guess the jerk didn't have much, did he?" Ranma commented.

Akane turned to face him rather than the downed swordsman. "What do you mean? You took a hit too, didn't you?"

"No big deal." Ranma told her, putting his arms behind his head.

Akane bent down to get a better lock at his bleeding wound on his left side. "So is it really all right?"

"Doesn't even itch." Ranma stated, until Akane tested his claim by poking the wound. Waves of pain shot thru the pig-tailed martial artist's body, making him fall to his knees clutching his side, and trying to hold back some tears too.

"So I guess Kuno really didn't have much, did he?" Akane sarcastically asked, then got serious. "C'mon, let's get you to Dr. Tofu now."

* * *

Ranma and Akane were at the chiropractor's clinic later with Tofu looking the young man over. "Hmm... the wounds aren't too bad. Just need some balms and bandages over them so they don't get worse. To be honest though, I'm surprised that's the worst of the injuries." He noted Ranma's confused expression. "You're Ranma right?" The young man nodded. "I hear you're Akane's fiancee now."

"That was our parent's decision, not ours!" Akane pointed out.

"I thought so. It's too early for the two of you to be thinking of marriage now. You're still children after all."

Akane sighed and looked away, hurt by what he said about her being a child. "Yes, doctor."

"Anyway, as I was saying before..." Tofu started as he got up to get some things to treat Ranma's wound with. "I'm surprised that these wounds are the worst Ranma has. Considering what kind of damage I've seen you do to other men Akane. I half-expected to see Ranma here with fist-sized bruises and dislocated joints by now."

Akane looked even more hurt now, but with Tofu's back to her he didn't see it. 'Does he think I'm some kind of thug or something?'

"No wonder your old man had ta arrange an engagement for you. You'd never get a husband any other way." Ranma commented. Akane reacted by lifting his bed up quickly to make him fall off. She was about to beat him over the head with it, but Tofu made her put it down harmlessly. She saw the stern but not harsh look he gave her, and was immediately ashamed of herself.

"Now Akane, did you bring him here to treat his injuries, or make them worse?" Tofu asked gently.

"S... sorry Dr. Tofu. I guess I overreacted." She said with a blush.

Tofu helped Ranma back onto the bed and started patching his wound. "Well boy, consider yourself lucky. I've seen the kinds of things she does to the other boys at school." He then smiled. "Guess she actually likes you if she hasn't done that to you yet."

"Hey! I don't like him. I just..." Akane started, then stopped herself. "He's different from those perverts. I don't have much reason to hurt him like I do them."

"So you do like him a bit." Tofu stated as he applied the bandage. Akane stiffened and looked ready to stammer. "Relax Akane. I'm not saying you love him or even want to be his girlfriend or anything. Just simply you like him in a ways. Don't get so defensive about what others say about you so much. It's not healthy. And you're all done Ranma."

Ranma checked the area out and felt the sting dying down. "Thanks doc. Feels better."

"Just try not to get cut again anytime soon, or apply a lot of pressure to the wound." Tofu recommended.

"Thanks for your help Dr. Tofu. We should probably get going now. It's getting late." Akane said, motioning to the window where everyone could see the sky getting darker.

Everyone said goodbye and Akane started walking off. Ranma was about to join her, but Tofu held him back for an extra moment. "Just a moment Ranma. Fiancee or not, do try to get along with Akane."

Ranma adverted his gaze. "I am trying. We live in the same house now after all. But she's so... it's like she almost expects me to try somethin' perverted on her any minute."

"Ah, but she's such a sweet girl." Tofu replied.

Ranma gave him a surprised look. "She is?" 'Not exactly the way I'd describe her.'

"You don't have to sound so surprised." He then gave Ranma a pat on the back. "You'll understand soon enough. Just try to get to know her better."

Ranma walked off with a wave and later caught up with Akane, who apparently stopped and waited. "What was that about?" She asked, unable to hear their private conversation.

Ranma placed his arms behind his head, looking as casual as possible. "Oh nothing. He was sympathizing with me for having to be around a girl that beats up men all the time." He noticed her twitch and come to a stop, making him place his arms in front of him defensively. "I'm ready."

"....... I see." Akane said without emotion or turning around, and kept on walking.

Ranma was surprised by this lack of reaction and just trailed her. When he tried to make eye contact with her, she just turned her head away from him. Wanting her attention, he tugged on the bow on the back of her head. "It was a joke. Lighten up." This certainly got her to look at him, albeit not pleased about it. "Now you're acting like a real girl, ya tomboy."

"Who's a tomboy?" Akane asked irritably, then got out of his grasp. "You looking for a fight?"

Ranma smiled with his tongue sticking out. "Now that's the Akane I'm used to."

"What's wrong with you?" Akane asked accusingly as she swung her bag at him and missed. Meanwhile, Tofu eyed the clock on his wall and counted down to one. Just then, Ranma's legs gave out as he stepped back, making him fall to the pavement. He tried to get back up, but his legs refused to support his weight, as if they had fallen asleep. "What happened?" Akane asked, sounding concerned this time.

"My legs won't work." Ranma stated, then his eyes widened. 'The doc! When he patted me, he did something to my hips. Why would he do that?'

"Oh for goodness sake!" Akane sighed as she got down in front of Ranma and grabbed his arms.

"What are you doing?"

"You can't walk, can you? How else do you expect to get home tonight?"

Ranma frowned. "What kind of man lets a girl carry him around on his back like that?"

Akane spotted a hose lying around in front of an apartment complex and turned it on, spraying Ranma. "It's okay if we're both girls, right?"

"I guess, but now that I'm this way, I could just fly back-tcha." Ranma told her as she lifted herself into the air. "Don't need working legs for that. But thanks." With that, Akane just kept walking home while Ranma hovered above her, high enough so most wouldn't notice her. She recalled Tofu's words, 'She's such a sweet girl. You'll understand soon enough,' and sighed. 'Not yet doc, not yet.'


	6. Tofu's Affection

_To those upset about how close this is to the canon storyline, rest assured it's only for character development so far and won't last much longer. At around the time of Ryoga's curse being introduced things will take a different turn, and maybe more so when Shampoo appears. Some later arcs will be greatly altered or ignored altogether later on, and some original ones will be used later too. So things will get less predictable soon._

Ranma and Genma, normal forms, were having their routine morning spars using the Saotome speciality of aerial combat. For the Tendo's, who specialized in ground-based combat, it was quite a sight to behold.

"Mr. Saotome, Ranma, breakfast!" Kasumi gently called to him, also enjoying watching the two spar in such a spirited way.

**Ch. 6 Tofu's Affection**

Everyone gathered at the table to eat, but Ranma and Genma were in their cursed forms since they stopped fighting right above the koi pond and fell in, noticing this too late. Genma was still a little wet but Ranma dried herself off with a small shock over herself. While eating, Genma held up a sign. 'Starting today, I have a part time job.'

"You working on a farm or something Pop?" Ranma asked.

'Wro-o-ong.' was Genma's reply, written long to emphasize the point he couldn't make verbally.

"What better place for a cow like you to work?" Ranma asked condensendingly.

"Mr. Saotome, pass the soy sauce." Nabiki asked in the meanwhile.

"Ah, Ranma, getting some early morning exercise with your father?" Soun asked as he entered the room with his eyes mostly closed as he finished up brushing his teeth. "Good way to stay..." He trailed off, not expecting to see Ranma in his barely-dressed female form so early in the morning. Luckily nothing inappropriate could be seen, but still Soun wasn't expecting such a sight this soon in the day.

Akane entered about then too, saw Ranma's body, and wearily sighed as she forced some hot water on the head of the gender-changer. "Can't you cover yourself more often? Have you no feminine modesty?"

Ranma tried drying himself off and gave her a flat look. "I'm a guy. Why would I have feminine anything?"

"Have you no shame?" Akane rephrased. "Why don't you wear two layers like you said you could?"

Ranma picked up his chopsticks. "I don't have enough clothes for that to be an everyday thing, and the extra layer sometimes gets in the way of my movements."

"So you'd rather flaunt yourself than be inconvenienced a little?" Akane irritably asked.

Ranma didn't reply, but kept his eyes on her. 'Awful touchy today. Must be that so-called time of month thing.'

"Oh by the way Akane," Kasumi started as she filled her own bowl of rice. "Could you do a favor for me on your way to or from school?" She then pulled out a book on pressure points. "I need this to be returned to Dr. Tofu's today."

Akane seemed to freeze up, but not from fear. "Umm... actually, I think it might be better if you do that instead. I may not get the chance to."

"But the clinic is right along your route to school." Kasumi pointed out.

"She's right, so what's the harm?" Ranma stated.

Akane quickly stood up, grabbed Ranma's pigtail, and took off dragging him. "We're going to be late Ranma." He didn't have time to react as she darted out the door and ran off, clutching his hairbraid tightly but somehow he felt no pain.

"What are ya so worked up over?" He asked, trying to still eat since he didn't drop his bowl and chopsticks. They passed by the old woman with the ladle and Ranma got wet. "Agh! Hey, stop right now Akane!" Before she got a chance to shock the youngest Tendo girl just hard enough to make her let go, Furinkan High came into view. "Wait! Hold on a sec-"

"Shut up!" Akane irritably shouted, then held her against the wall around the school on the inside side. "Listen Ranma, why don't you keep out of-" Akane paused, just now realizing Ranma had become a female oni. "When did you change?"

"That's why I wanted you to stop-tcha."

"You should have said something."

Ranma frowned. "I did!"

Both girls noticed the hentai horde approach and try to gawk at Ranma. Akane frowned and shielded Ranma's body from view with her own. "Hey! Scram you perverts!" None moved in any direction, so Akane got into a defensive stance. "So who's first today?"

"Akane, we won't challenge you anymore." A random male wearing a striped shirt who looked like a boxer told her calmly, with a few tears trailing down his face.

A man wearing a kendoist outfit next to him nodded, also shedding tears. "Instead, we'll swallow our pride, and give our approval to your engagement to Ranma."

"What the-?" Ranma was about to speak up.

Akane quickly interrupted her. "Fly away first chance you get." Then she faced the group known as the hentai horde again, looking at them suspiciously. "Now what's gotten into all of you? You're all just giving up like that?" For the most part she was completely relieved, but also confused to this sudden change.

Before any of the gathered men would answer, one with bandages all over his face approached from the left side of the front field. He was instantly recognizable due to his kendoist clothing, bokken, and voice. "So then, you've all heard the untrue rumors spreading around. The notion that Ranma Saotome could actually defeat me. I, Tatewaki Kuno, do not accept defeat!"

'Your appearance is not helping your case bub.' Akane bitterly thought.

"Kuno was the best fighter at Furinkan High." The boxer commented.

"And the biggest pervert." Some unknown male behind the boxer added, making Kuno fume a little.

All of the hentai horde then buried their eyes in their forearms to hide their sorrow, and Ranma used this brief moment to fly to a safe spot to change back to normal. One more member of the horde spoke up. "If it's Ranma you've chosen, someone who's already proven to be more than a match for any of us, then we shall give up and save face."

'So basically someone won this little game of theirs and they're admitting defeat?' Akane asked herself. 'I'm offended that they see me like that, but also glad it's over.'

"Tatewaki Kuno however shall not surrender." The vain kendoist declared as he began unravelling his bandages. Once off, everyone could see the bruises on him the size and shape of a foot. "A hundred kicks, no, two hundred kicks, from a coward like Saotome, don't even itch."

"Then why the bandages?" Akane dryly asked. Not wanting to hear whatever excuse that was somehow self-glamorizing from the upperclassman, Akane just slipped around him and went inside, keeping her guard up in case he or any of the now former hentai horde made a move for her.

* * *

Gym class came and they were exercising in various ways. Ranma, male form now, used the nearby equipment like the chin up bars to answer the guys questions about how good he was at martial arts, while Akane and several other girls were playing baseball. Ranma was using just his right hand to stand upside down on the bars to amaze his classmates, then did a flip in the air and landed on his feet like an Olympic gymnist. The small audience clapped for him.

"Amazing Ranma." A brown haired guy with a perm named Hiroshi told him.

"You must have learned some of those neat acrobat skills I've heard about from China." A dark-haired boy named Daisuke commented.

Ranma sat down and shook his head. "No nothing like that. Just martial arts. Pops said anything that wasn't for combat wasn't worth learning." He then looked to see what Akane was busy doing.

Hiroshi got closer on Ranma's left side and spoke in a whisper. "So level with us man. How far have you gotten with Akane?"

Ranma didn't understand what he was asking, but Daisuke must have heard the question and entered the conversation. "Don't play innocent. You are her fiancee after all."

The boys then started asking how much of her body he'd seen already and what sorts of sexual tricks they'd tried by now. Ranma denied everything, but they didn't believe him. "Guys, you've seen how she acts to those other guys in the morning. Do you actually think she's so easy that she'd sleep with me in the same week as meeting me?"

'Well, there's gotta be some reason all those guys wanted her.' Hiroshi and Daisuke simultaneously thought and wisely chose not to say.

Ranma went back to watching Akane play baseball. She caught the ball in her glove and threw it to a baseman, smiled as she did so. Her smile almost entranced Ranma just then; he couldn't take his eyes off her or remember he was supposed to get back to exercising himself.

"She is cute." Hiroshi said in a friendly manner.

Ranma snapped himself out of his trance and looked away from his fiancee. "Yeah, she can be when she's not angry." Apparently he lost track of time because the next thing he noticed was a blunt object impaling itself into his right cheek. In that time Akane had gone up to bat and accidently hit the ball his way.

"Shouldn't you have been able to dodge that?" Daisuke asked.

"Had something on my mind." Ranma plainly said before removing the ball from his face.

"That's gonna leave a mark." Hiroshi commented.

* * *

"Again, I'm sorry." Akane told Ranma as they both walked home after school. Ranma was still sporting a bruise with switching imprints in his cheek, and this wasn't the first time she had apologized for it.

"It's okay. This isn't the worst thing I've been hit with y'know." Ranma told her. Since there was no real conflict between them he saw no reason to reject her apologies.

"Well, why don't we have Dr. Tofu take a look at it?" Akane asked, already taking a step in that direction.

"Sure. We gotta return that book for Kasumi anyway."

"Umm... Ranma, I didn't grab it this morning." The youngest Tendo reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Why were you so edgy back then? It's not like you." Akane sighed and didn't answer. So Ranma just followed her in silence. They stopped outside the clinic, seeing a tiger-cow sweep away leaves with a bamboo broom. "Pop? What are ya doing here?"

'So he can stand on two legs in that form?' Akane quickly thought.

Tofu popped out from behind the outer wall of the clinic. "Oh good afternoon Akane and Ranma. I see you've met Mr. Saotome. He just started here today as my helping hand. And as you can see, he's not exactly a normal person."

"You can say that again Doc." Ranma responded.

"You want me to take a look at that Ranma?" Tofu offered once he noticed the bruise. Ranma nodded and Tofu led them inside.

"Did Ranma's father mention his curse before he took the job Doctor?" Akane asked.

"Oh so he's your father Ranma? Not much resemblence is there? And yes Akane he did. But it's not a big inconvenience here." Tofu answered as Ranma sat down on the examination table. Tofu looked at the damage and smiled. "Let me guess, Akane hit you, didn't she?"

Ranma and Akane were wide-eyed. "How do ya figure?"

"The size, the color, the angle of the indent, that's Akane's signature all right."

"You mean she's hit others with balls like this before?" Ranma asked.

"I do not!" Akane almost yelled at him. "Besides, you should have paid attention."

"Whoa you two, I was just joking to ease the tension. You mean I was right?" Tofu jumped in to quelch this potential flame. Their ashamed looks said enough for him. "Well, it's not too bad. Just means you're healthy and active, and able to take a hit or two. Let me go get something to reduce the swelling." He then went to his supply closet in another room.

Left alone, Ranma and Akane didn't know what to say. Fortunately the phone rang so they didn't have to just wait there uncomfortably. Akane answered it before Genma could, wondering why he bothered to reach for it since he couldn't speak at the moment. "Hello, Ono clinic." Ranma couldn't hear what was being said, but the expression on Akane's face told him she didn't like what she heard. "I see. I'll let him know. Thanks." She hung up the phone and pulled on Ranma's shirt. "C'mon Ranma, we gotta go."

"Why you so worked up right now?" He asked.

Akane stopped and held him against the wall, but not in a menacing way. "Because... there's a girl Dr. Tofu likes, and... she's on her way here." If she wasn't actually crying, she sounded like she was about to any minute.

The door opened and Ranma looked to see who it was. Expecting some gorgeous woman, all he saw was the old lady who regularly got him wet. "Guess the doc has weird tastes."

"That's not her, baka." Akane quietly criticized as the old woman went to one of the chairs in the waiting room. Akane led Ranma back into the room they just left to speak privately. "The girl he likes... is Kasumi."

Ranma blinked. "Really? Kasumi?" Akane nodded. "Does she like him back?" Akane shrugged. Before he could ask more, Tofu returned with an ice pack and placed it on Ranma's cheek, telling him to keep it there for five minutes. Akane was anxious, not sure it was a good idea to wait that long.

The door opened again, and Kasumi walked into view. "Good afternoon Dr. Tofu."

Tofu's glasses fogged up while he was applying some bandages with ointment to Ranma's face. "Ka-Ka-Kasumi?"

'Oh crap, this is gonna hurt.' Akane thought since Ranma's head was still in Tofu's hands.

"F-funny seeing you here of all places. I-I was just treating this guy for aches." Tofu stammered and then crinked Ranma's neck to his left, twisting it to a near ninety degree angle from what it should be. Ranma screamed in surprised agony. Meanwhile, the old lady who had entered decided now was a good time to leave and come back later. Others were out front, glad they weren't inside when they heard Ranma's scream.

"Oh my. Are you feeling better now Ranma?" Kasumi asked politely. 'Thought I just heard a popping noise.'

"I'm sure Ranma's fine. He's in great shape." The doctor said while patting Betty's back like an old friend.

"Doc! Doc!" Ranma tried shouting. Apparently having his throat manipulated like that didn't affect his breathing or vocal abilites.

"Oh, is something wrong sir?" Tofu came up to him like he just now noticed him.

"My neck!"

"Another injury Ranma? What'll I do you?" Tofu said before twisting Ranma's neck to be stuck on his right side now. "There. Good as new." Ranma collapsed on his back. "Good idea. Sleep it off."

"Anyway Dr. Tofu, I just wanted to return this book from you. And give you these as a way of saying things." Kasumi butted in, offering him his book and a tray of cookies.

"Ah Thanks Kasumi. This book will go great with the rest." Tofu said, momentarily forgetting he already owned it. "And a mask? It fits perfectly." In his Kasumi-induced daze he took the cloth covering the cookies and wrapped it around his face like a mask.

"Actually, the cookies are the real gift." The oldest Tendo daughter reminded the doctor.

"Ah, thank you." He tried to bite the plate. "A little tough to chew."

Kasumi just giggled, then noticed Akane quickly take Ranma outside. "Where's she off to in such a hurry? We could have gone home together."

"And do you need help maam?" Tofu asked Genma, still in tiger-cow form, who held up a sign that read 'I'm your assistant and a man'.

* * *

Once they were a safe distance away, Akane came to a stop with Ranma in an alley between two buildings. "What the hell was that just now?" Ranma asked, trying to pop his neck back into place.

"That's what we call Tofu's Kasumi-itis." Akane explained. "Whenever he sees her, Dr. Tofu gets all..." She paused to think of a good word for the situation.

"Crazy?"

Akane nodded. "Yeah, so it's best not to be anywhere near him when she's there. We'll have him look at your neck again once she's gone."

Ranma could see she looked as hurt as he felt, but not from physical pain. "Something bothering you?"

Akane turned away and placed one hand on the wall nearest her. 'I can't let it hurt me. I'm trying to get past this.'

Not sure what to do here, Ranma just waited. And when they felt they waited enough, they returned to the clinic. Fortunately Kasumi wasn't there and Tofu was sane again, so he was able to fix Ranma's neck painlessly. The two teens said goodbye and headed home, with Ranma wondering what was up with his fiancee.


	7. Ryoga Arrives

"Run! A boar!" A farmer screamed as he ran for his life, being chased by a wild boar bigger than a horse. Other farmers saw this and ran out of the way too. One person didn't run though. Instead he stood there and used his umbrella to force the boar to stop, by catching then throwing it into the air like it weighted nothing to him. The farmers were quite impressed.

The young man was approached by the farmers, curious to see if he had been so much as scratched. Unharmed, he asked them one question. "Where is Furinkan High?"

**Ch. 7 Ryoga Arrives**

"Ranma, stop right there!" Nabiki ordered as she and her older sister were chasing down the boy currently in female oni form. And it wasn't easy trying to catch someone who could fly, or zap you if by chance you did catch them.

"I told you I'm not wearing girl clothes datcha!" Ranma shouted back.

At this current moment Ranma was a girl and couldn't use the furo just yet since it was occupied by Akane. She had to wait, but since her clothes were in the wash she had nothing to wear but a spare bathrobe and an extra set of boxers. Oddly enough, whenever the clothes Ranma wear change because of his curse, his boxers and pants both change together without any plausible explanation. Kasumi suggested that Ranma wear some of the Tendo girl's clothes for the time being, at least until his own clothes were dry, and naturally Ranma didn't think that was a good idea.

"Ranma we've been over this." Kasumi told her when she stopped at the end of the hallway and just hovered.

"But I'm a guy."

"You're a guest too and it's not right for you to go around in your birthday suit like that." Kasumi added.

"Besides, we're not telling you to enjoy it." Nabiki added. 'Oh, if I can get a picture of that, I could get so much out of him. If he doesn't destroy the camera that is.'

In the end, all three of them got into Akane's room and were finding something for Ranma to temporarily wear since her size was logically the closest to the oni girl. Akane came in wearing pajamas and was told the situation, her one question being 'why mine?'

"I'm not wearing a skirt!" Ranma insisted, hoping it wouldn't fall on deaf ears.

"This should be good." Nabiki said as she found some clothes that fit whatever standards she had in mind for just then.

Ranma got dressed and stood there wearing a short sleeve bright yellow shirt that didn't cover all of her stomach, and a set of dark blue shorts that showed off her thighs well. (Think what Lum generally wears when she's not wearing her bikini or school uniform)

"Wow, it's perfect." Akane said, quite impressed by how fitting it appeared.

Ranma looked it over in Akane's mirror. "Not really. The chest is too tight-tcha."

Akane's left eye ticked while Nabiki got next to the gender bender. "Really? How's the waist?"

"Room to spare." Ranma answered, pulling out the sides to emphasize her claim.

Even more bothered by the unintentional insult, Akane grabbed Ranma by the shirt and pulled her in close. If not for the glare, it would almost look like they were going to kiss. "Trying to say something?"

"Umm... I guess my measurements are different-tcha." Ranma sputtered, just barely avoiding putting her foot in her mouth.

Akane let her go, willing to overlook this and hopefully avoid getting shocked if she actually tried to hurt the lightning wielder. But that didn't mean she wasn't bothered.

* * *

One week later Ranma, in male form, and Akane were leaving the school chatting like good friends. Most that saw them whispered that they almost looked like a real couple. If the two were holding hands just then the image would be complete.

Before they left school grounds, Ranma thought he noticed something wrong and got cautious. That would prove to be a good thing because the next instant he saw a shadow descend on him. "Ranma prepare to die!" His quick reflexes allowed him to get out of the way, and fortunately he was able to get Akane safely away too.

When the dust cleared the first thing everyone looking noticed was a strange new boy wearing a yellow shirt with brown pants and a yellow-and-black headband around his brown hair. He had a full backpack strapped on and a bamboo umbrella in his hands pointed down. And underneath him was a shallow crater where he landed. Ranma knew he knew this guy, but for some reason couldn't put a name to his face just then.

"I've finally found you Ranma Saotome." The newcomer stated angrily as a crowd drew around him.

"Who is this guy Ranma?" Akane asked.

"Not exactly sure. I know I've seen him before, but I can't remember his name." He cautiously told her.

The newcomer frowned more. "Can't remember me huh? It's because of you running out on our duel that I've seen hell!"

Something clicked in Ranma's mind just then. "Oh yeah, you're Ryoga Hibiki, my old friend from my last school."

"I'm not your friend Ranma. I'm your executioner."

"What gives?" Akane asked Ryoga, wondering what this was about.

"We had a duel and he ran out on it." Ryoga answered like it was reason alone to start World War III.

"Ryoga, I waited for you for three days straight." Ranma clarified.

"Well, when I showed up on the fourth day, you were already gone like the coward you are."

Ranma sighed. "Ryoga, let me ask you something. Why did it take you four days to get to a lot about 500 yards away from your house?"

Ryoga growled. "Do you think I was just out for a stroll those four days? I was trying to find the place every waking moment!"

"Boy, he must have a horrible sense of direction." One of the guys in the crowd casually mentioned, loud enough for the three martial artists to overhear.

Ranma crossed his arms. "So you came all this way just to finish our match?"

"Not at all. This is revenge!" Ryoga replied before he threw his open umbrella like a frisbee. Instinct took over and everyone got out of it's way as it flew in a circle and returned to the lost boy like a boomerang. "Ranma, I vow to destroy your happiness."

'My happiness? Am I happy?' Ranma asked himself.

Akane fumed. "Now hold on just a minute bub!" Now if she had been hostile or even indifferent to Ranma, she probably wouldn't have said anything just then and let the pigtailed martial artist handle this on his own. But since she viewed Ranma as a friend and probably the most decent guy she knew outside Dr. Tofu, she wasn't going to just stay out of this. "What the hell are you so ticked off at Ranma for? What did he ever do to you?"

"Because of him I've seen hell!" Ryoga shouted irritably.

Akane didn't look sympathetic. "Be more specific than that."

Ryoga scoffed. "I don't owe you any explanation. This is between me and Ranma."

Akane crossed her arms and stood confidently. "Alright then, but tell me this. Ever since you missed out on the original duel, you've been trying to track Ranma down right?" He nodded. "So if the duel was so important that you're willing to do all that, why couldn't you have ensured you were there on time in the first place?"

Some of the students in the crowd started whispering to themselves about similar thoughts before Ryoga could say anything. "It wasn't my fault. I got lost."

"And yet you couldn't ask someone to lead you there? Or try to get there early? Tell me, who chose the site, Ranma or you?" Ryoga stayed silent and glared. "I thought so. Any martial artist knows you show up on time or not at all."

"That doesn't matter! I've suffered because of him!" Ryoga defended himself hastily.

"Did he make you late? Did he give you a bad sense of direction? Did he tell you to track him down? No, you did. Anything bad that happened was your own damn fault." Akane countered, making many onlookers nod.

Now Ryoga looked even madder, as if the youngest Tendo had struck a nerve. Before he could actually do anything to her, he made himself face Ranma again. "Ranma, this Saturday you and I are going to settle this once and for all!"

"Three days from now? Trying to give yourself some time to get lost and have an excuse to be mad and insult Ranma some more?" Akane reprimanded before her fiancee could reply. "If this match is really that important to you, then settle it here and now rather than delay it." She then smirked fiendishly. "Unless you're afraid you'll lose and are just trying to sound big but have a way out of it."

Ryoga practically foamed at the mouth. "Fine then. Here and now it is!" He then lunged at Ranma, who was already ready for this.

Ranma may have looked like he was trying to get out of the fight, but all his jumping and dodging was really just to lead Ryoga away from the crowded part of the field. Irregardless, Akane and most of the crowd followed to watch.

Ryoga was in a bad mood it seemed and punching like crazy, no rhythm right for a martial artist. It was easy for Ranma to dodge, but not get a word or punch in edgewise. So he settled for blocking and trying to get this guy worn out. Easier said then done because Ryoga had pretty impressive punches. Nothing Ranma couldn't handle, but he would have to check for bruises later on.

Ranma ducked and skidded off to the side so he could sneak-attack his opponent. However, Ryoga grabbed his umbrella and tried to hit Ranma with it like a lance. He missed, but and made a huge dent in the pavement. Forgoing the umbrella for a moment, Ryoga tried to ambush Ranma again in a brawler style attack. Ranma got a kick in to Ryoga's front and jaw to keep him away.

Akane watched the whole thing in awe, for this was the first time she really got to see Ranma fight as himself. The brief battle with Kuno on the first day was too short to be that impressive, and most other instances were in his oni form. as she watched, she found herself admitting he was very good and wanted to see more. Luckily she stopped herself before her thoughts could take a more perverse direction. And a classmate's cry helped out too.

"Augh! This thing weights a ton!" One of the boys in her class Akane didn't know the name of shouted as he tried to move Ryoga's umbrella. But he looked more like he was trying to lift a steel beam barehanded.

'But that Ryoga guy could throw it singelhandedly. That must mean..." Akane thought in horror before looking to Ranma. "Ranma watch out! He's got the strength of a monster!" The shout distracted Ranma just long enough for Ryoga to put a scratch on his face that bled.

"Heh, you found out too late." Ryoga commented.

"I can still fight since you won't let me stop." Ranma responded in a defensive position.

"Of course I won't let you. You need to suffer just like I have." Ryoga all but shouted as he resumed the attack.

'So that's what this is about.' Akane thought with a frown. 'That sore loser made a bad choice, got himself in some bad spots, blames Ranma for the whole thing, and wants to pick on him to make himself feel better.' Right then she wanted to butt into the fight and hit Ryoga with a mallet for being such an unlikeable male, but the reminder about his abnormal strength made her legs refuse to take her closer.

Sadly Ranma's legs didn't feel the same way since he had been taught never to run from a fight. The only exception being of course the Saotome secret manuever. Strange how that for a martial arts master like Genma, most of the techniques he had left to teach were for getting out of a fight rather than winning it. But Ranma couldn't worry about that right now. His focus was getting Ryoga out of his foul mood without getting anything destroyed or having to resort to oni form. He decided a good punch to the jaw might be enough to end this, hopefully.

Before Ranma's fist made contact, Ryoga took off one of many bandannas he wore for situations like this and caught his rival's wrist, preventing a blow or an escape. "Got you now, coward!"

"How many bandannas are you wearing?" Ranma asked before he used his momentum to make Ryoga flip over himself and make a jab with his free hand. Ryoga took off several more bandannas, and yet there was still some more on his head, and threw them like shuriken. Even odder, they felt like shuriken too as one of them cut the front of Ranma's shirt. The rest bounced off the ground and flew towards other targets, cutting metal poles even. Fortunately no one was hurt. "Hey! This was my favorite shirt!" Ranma complained once he noticed the damage.

"Quit yer griping! You sound like a girl when you say that." Ryoga thoughtlessly insulted as he regained his umbrella.

One of Ranma's nerves had been struck and he certainly showed it. Part of it was because Genma always used that as the best insult on his own son, and another part was because of his curse. "Who are ya calling a girl?" Ranma angrily shouted back as he got ready to knock Ryoga's lights out as soon as possible. He was attacking so hastily that Ryoga was the one trying to back up and get some space this time. He even jumped over a wall but Ranma followed.

Ranma then made a strong kick that broke the ground, and sadly one of the water pipes under him. A huge geyser of cold water was inevitable. Ryoga used his umbrella to deflect the water and ride it up and out, soon landing on a brick wall. Ranma still kept up the attack, unaware he can become a she. "I said who are ya calling a girl?"

Ryoga was certainly not expecting to see a good looking girl in a two piece swimsuit pop out of the water instead of Ranma, and certainly didn't react in time. Ranma's kick landed a good blow to the lost boy's face, and the fact this form always wore calf-high tiger stripe boots with heels made the blow sting more. Ryoga fell down but was still coherent and got a look at his rival's new body. He noticed the shape, the attire, the hair, and had a small nosebleed. Luckily Ranma's top wasn't torn as badly as the shirt had been, just a small nick on the edge, otherwise Ryoga's nosebleed may have been worse. "R-R-Ranma?"

"You want a fight so bad you've got it pal-tcha!" Ranma stated as she got ready to punch him some more. Apparently the feminine voice didn't filter thru her mind, but the sudden presence of lightning around her fists did. "What the? When did I...? Oh yeah the water burst."

Akane caught up before anyone else could and saw this new situation. "Crap. Ranma you might want to get out of here. Everyone else is coming and I'm sure you don't want them to see you like this."

Ranma grumbled, hating the fact she was right about that. "We'll have to take care of this later Ryoga. If you can find me that is-tcha."

"Wait. Ranma, what the heck happened to you?" Ryoga asked, already having a good idea for personal reasons he'd rather not admit, but wanting to actually hear a confirmation.

Ranma gave the lost boy a bothered narrow-eyed look, as if she could strike him with lightning just by doing that. "Ryoga, I don't know what the hell yer problem is, but you're not the only one who's had bad times since we've parted-tcha. Look at me, cursed with this body, and yet I still find reasons to be nice to people. I don't go around trying to clobber others so they feel as miserable as me-tcha."

Before Ryoga could reply, Ranma already flew off, not wanting to risk getting spotted anymore. Akane then walked right up to the lost boy and sternly crossed her arms with an angry glare. "I suggest you get lost on purpose this time. Or else I'll fight you, and I'm used to fighting men."

Ryoga, not used to interactions with women but considerate enough to not knowingly fight them, did as told and wandered away, not looking where he was going. "What a violent girl. Good luck getting a boyfriend with that attitude miss." He then looked to the sky. "Ranma, whatever may have happened to you has only delayed your inevitable demise, not prevented it. You will suffer even more than I have. But for now, where am I?"


	8. Ryoga's Curse

A week passed since Ranma and Ryoga reunited and had their little fight. In that time the lost boy had somehow gotten to Okinawa without realizing it. Still steamed over not resolving his self-important burden that would for now only be resolved by beating the pigtailed boy to a pulp, he continued trekking his way to his rival, taking many, many wrong turns along the way.

But now, on a heavily rainy night, Ryoga has found his way to the Tendo dojo, having heard this is where Ranma lives.

**Ch. 8 Ryoga's Curse**

For some stupid reason at least one way inside the residence wasn't locked that night and Ryoga easily and quietly slipped inside. And for yet another inexplicable reason Ryoga just somehow instinctively knew the bedrooms were upstairs and headed that way. He slowly checked behind each door, ignoring any room that had a girl in it, figuring Ranma wouldn't sleep as a girl if he could prevent it.

He was right about tonight

at least, and saw Ranma asleep on a futon. Ignoring the tiger-cow next to him, Ryoga walked right up and stood over Ranma's head. At that moment he was briefly conflicted. Here was the perfect opportunity for him to take out his grief on his rival with minimal damage to himself. He could get in several good shots before Ranma or anyone else knew what was going on and be out of there before anyone knew still. But on the other hand, doing that was how a bully handles their fights, not a martial artist. And as much as Ryoga wanted to vent his frustrations, he didn't want anyone to claim he was a coward by attacking a sleeping man. But if Ranma was awake, it was totally legit. Too bad Ryoga wasn't concerned about how awake or alert Ranma was at the moment.

"Ranma, wake up!" He said somewhat loud but not quite yelling. Ranma and the tiger-cow did nothing. "Wake up!" Again, no reaction, and Ryoga was getting impatient. "I said wake up!" He tried to punch Ranma to stir him awake, but the pigtailed young man chose that exact moment to sleep on his side and luckily avoid the strike. Now Ryoga was even madder. "WAKE UP DAMMIT!" He yelled right in Ranma's ear, waking him and the tiger-cow.

Genma hit both of them out the window, using a sign that read 'Take it outside!' and then closed the window.

Ranma wasn't too coordinated just then and landed in the koi pond. His curse had already been triggered by the rain but she didn't realize that and couldn't fly right away. Ryoga was quick enough to get his umbrella open and avoid getting soaked, by rain or pond water.

Ranma flew out of the water and wiped what she could out of her eyes. "What? Ryoga? What gives?"

"What do you think?"

Ranma groaned. "But it's the middle of the night-tcha."

"Does revenge know night or day?" The lost boy shouted as he tried to kick the oni girl, who could easily dodge since she was still in mid-air.

"Ryoga, what is so damn important to you that you'd barge here at night and try to fight me? It can't be just because of what happened in middle school-tcha."

Ryoga fumed and stood as ready to kill as ever. "You really want to know? Fine. Ranma, when you left our duel, I followed you to finish it. All the way to China."

It took a moment for Ranma to really understand just what the lost boy was saying. "So you wound up at Jusenkyo too? And now you change into something when you get wet?"

Ryoga jumped, hoping to get a good hit in just then. "No more talk!"

* * *

Akane heard the shouting and the start of a fight and thus was roused from her sleep. Assuming the worst, as she often tended to do, she slipped on a robe and grabbed her bamboo training sword before quietly going downstairs. The creak of the stairs behind her made her quickly look behind her. "Kasumi?"

"You heard it too Akane?"

The younger Tendo nodded. "There must be an intruder. I'll get him."

A flash of lightning caught their attention, making them look outside. Out the window they saw the silhouette of a man with a backpack.

"A burgular." Akane angrily hissed.

"With a pack for holding stolen goods." Kasumi added.

Akane's hands tightened around her sword. "I'll crush him."

"No. Use this." Kasumi calmly countered as she handed her sister a training weight.

'I don't know what's weirder: the fact that Kasumi was able to get this so quickly or the fact that she's encouraging fighting just now.' Akane briefly thought before she opened the window and hurled the dumbbell at the presumed thief.

* * *

Ryoga had been ready to strike, but before he made contact or Ranma dodged, he felt a sudden blow to the back of his head. Said blow made him involuntarily drop his umbrella, and expose him the cold rain. After that it was the shock of the rain that made him freeze in place more than the blunt trauma to his hard head.

Before the curse could take full effect he ran away as quick as he could, using his arms to lessen the rain's touch to absolutely no avail. "Hey Ryoga wait up." Ranma shouted as she tried to catch up to him, mostly curious about what it was Ryoga would turn into. However, she lost track of him and only came across his discarded shirt and backpack, but no pants. "His clothes? Then he really did wind up in Jusenkyo." Ranma muttered as she got a closer look.

She heard a noise behind her, much like a garbage can being moved around, and instinctively got defensive. 'Boy I really hope it's Ryoga and not some pervert trying to oggle my wet female form.' She wasn't sure if she should have been relieved or not when she saw the silhouette of what looked like an angry canine.

* * *

"Good, that creep's gone." Akane said to herself as she went back into her bedroom and closed the door. Kasumi did the same thing in her own room, with Nabiki and the others blissfully unaware of the whole situation.

Once inside Akane felt she was being watched, and heard something similar to a person clattering their teeth when cold. Suspecting a peeping tom, she looked over her room while staying near the door in case she needed to escape quickly. Keeping her ears sharp, she tracked down the clattering noise to the direction of her bed. And since there wasn't anything under the blankets or sheets there must have been someone under the bed hiding.

Akane looked underneath, not sure what to expect since she was sure no pervert could be that small. Eventually she'd be proven wrong but for now that wasn't an issue. She definitely saw a person under her bed, shivering and glaring at her, and about the size of a very young child. 'What the...? How'd a kid get in here?' "Come on out. I'm not going to hurt you." She said in a kind way, extending her hand to show no harmful intentions.

After a minute or so, the hider slowly came into the light. Akane was surprised to see what looked like an infant boy drenched from the rain and clearly not in a good mood from it. She quickly engulfed him in a gentle hug. "You poor boy. Were you out in the rain all alone? Let me get you a towel to dry off with." The boy didn't resist, but still looked weary. Once Akane got up, she then noticed a few more details about the child. One, he had green hair. Two, he wore a tiger-print diaper and a yellow headband. And three, he had a single horn on the back of his head just above the knot that held the headband together. 'Is this someone who drowned at Jusenkyo too like Ranma? Better get some hot water to be sure.'

* * *

"Look Ryoga, I'm sorry ya got cursed, but I'm a guest here and you can't go acting all vicious all the time-tcha." Ranma said to a dog as she dried her green hair with a towel. She was also warming up some water in a tea kettle to make Ryoga turn back to normal, but figured she herself would need a soak in the tub since she was chilled to the bone.

Akane stepped into the room just then and saw Ranma with the dog. "Ranma? What are you doing up?"

"Took care of an intruder and trying ta get dry-tcha." She said with her back turned. "Why are you up?"

"Heard someone trying to break in. Anyway, you'll never guess what I found."

Ranma turned to face her. "What?" She then saw a green-haired little boy in Akane's arms. An angry looking one at that too. "What's that?" She asked pointing at the kid, which got angrier and breathed fire like a western dragon at Ranma.

Akane dropped the child in fright and the dog Ranma brought inside ran back out whimpering. Even though the boy had been dropped, he still hovered in the air. Ranma meanwhile looked burned but not too bad somehow, and her expression was irate. Then lightning started dancing around her body, making Akane back away before firing at the floating kid and zapping him nonlethally. As upset as Ranma was at being burned like that, she wasn't going to try and kill anyone anytime soon.

Fearing things may get out of hand, Akane grabbed the tea kettle and poured it's contents on the small child. The next moment, a bare-chested Ryoga came crashing on the floor, somewhat smoldering from the electrocution. Ranma and Akane looked at the lost boy in surprise that it was him, and glad his pants stayed on or else Akane might have crushed him for inadvertently mooning her.

Instead of clobbering him, Akane knelt down, grabbed Ryoga's hair, and lifted his head up to look at her. "Start talking."

It took a moment or two for the lost boy to regain the ability to talk. "This whole thing is Ranma's fault."

"You've already said that last time. Try something else." Akane replied.

"When he ran out on our duel-" Ryoga began, but the young Tendo cut him off.

"You mean when you showed up way too late and he decided he had waited long enough."

"However you see it, I followed him to China. I lost track of him several times, but could tell he was heading more inland. After a while, something horrible happened to me."

-Flashback-

'Where am I?' Ryoga asked himself as he walked along the edge of a cliff. All he saw below him was mist and in the distance a mountain peak with some birds flying around the top. To his other side away from the cliff's edge was a dense forest he had no real interest in wandering thru just then.

At first he heard nothing but some birds chirping and a light breeze blowing thru the leaves, but he quickly heard something louder from something bigger. From out of the bushes in the direction ahead of him he saw what he presumed was a rather large tiger running on it's hind legs running towards him after turning away from the cliff. Ryoga jumped out of it's way to avoid being hit and unwisely jumped closer to the egde of the cliff, making him briefly unbalanced.

"Hey get back here Pops!" A feminine voice angrily shouted out. Ryoga briefly saw a girl rush towards him too but he couldn't see much of whatshe looked like. He did notice it almost looked like she was flying, but surely it was just a specialized jump. Irregardless, her outstretched arm hit him and made him unbalanced enough to fall off the cliff entirely down into the mist.

The next thing Ryoga noticed was that he was surrounded by cold water, and it soon felt like his skin was being peeled off him before his mind briefly blacked out. During that blackout he managed to get back to the surface and then the blackout ended, but something just didn't feel right to him. This was first confirmed when he tried to swim out of the body of water he was in and noticed his arms were significantly shorter.

When he got out of the water, he noticed two things. One, his overall size had somehow decreased, and two, that large tiger had gotten away from the girl pursuing it and was standing in front of him on it's hind legs. Up close he could see this tiger had horns and a green tail that looked more like a horses than a tigers. The tiger tried grabbing him but he screamed in panic and confusion, unwillingly sending a burst of fire at the odd animal. Ryoga tried to take the brief chance caused by the diversion to get away, and ran as fast as his stubby little legs would carry his short body. But the tiger grabbed him by the diaper-like thing he was now wearing and carried him off to some wooden shack.

Inside there was a portly Chinese man wearing a green uniform. "Hello sir. What that you bring here?"

"Can someone tell me what the hell happened to me?" Ryoga shouted, this time not breathing fire.

"Ah, someone who drown in Niangqingaoninichuan, where at same time Japanese girl oni drowned, young oni child drown too long ago. Very tragic indeed yes? This spring different because victim become infant oni that breathe fire instead shoot lightning." The guide explained as best he could.

"What?" Ryoga asked, a mixture of confusion and disbelief at hearing he can become an pyromatic oni toddler.

The guide then filled a large tub for soothing feet with water. "If you want return normal, heat this water. Not too much mind you."

-End Flashback-

"So you see Ranma, if you hadn't left I never would have gone to China and gotten this humiliating curse." Ryoga finished angrily, wishing he could incinerate his rival right then.

"Hold it Ryoga. Like Akane said last time, I didn't make you go to China. You did that all on your own-tcha. And you should be more mad at that girl that knocked you-" Ranma countered, but stopped once something in her mind clicked.

Akane realized the same thing, but Ryoga didn't. Odds are he never would if Genma hadn't chosen that moment to check on all the commotion that was keeping him up. And he checked on it in his cursed form. 'Never mind' He signed before going back to his room hoping things would stay quiet now.

"A tiger... with horns?" Ryoga asked himself. Akane narrowed her eyes at the lost boy in case he tried anything funny, while Ranma tried to look at cute and innocent as possible to lessen Ryoga's bad mood. It didn't work. "So that girl that knocked me into the spring was you Ranma? I'm going to kill you!"

Before he got the chance, Akane grabbed the shower head and sprayed Ryoga with cold water before holding him down with her foot. "Not so fast pal. You're not as innocent as you'd like to think you are here. Let's ignore why you went to China for now since we'll already covered that part. Maybe Ranma did knock you off a cliff, but you're to blame too since you were so close to it in the first place. Anyone who stays too close to an edge is just asking for trouble."

Before Ryoga would ignore any decency he had and torch the girl holding him captive, Ranma butted in. "Look Ryoga, I'm sorry I hit you and made you fall. I was in a really bad mood and only thought about hurting Pops-tcha. I didn't even see you. But Akane has some good points too-tcha."

"Shut up." Ryoga muttered, not wanting to see reason here.

"No you shut up." Akane angrily replied, tightening her hold by pressing down a tad more. "No more whining like the baby you apparently are, Ryoga Hibiki. No matter how you can blame Ranma for your misfortunes you are just as guilty if not more in them."

That did it. Ryoga struggled to face Akane and lightly burn her to get himself free. Once his mouth opened Akane tried backing away, but the end of her long hair caught fire. She screamed and Ranma poured the rest of the water in the kettle on her before she could be burned worse than having her hair get shortened. Ranma then grabbed the other oni and shocked them into unconsciousness.

Akane's shriek of terror quickly alerted the rest of the household sans Nabiki, the heavy sleeper. "Akane what happened?" Soun asked as he rushed into the room he heard the shout come from. He first noticed the smoke coming from her head, for reasons besides anger for once. "Did someone try to hurt you?" The tears came pouring right on cue.

"Yea, this jerk." Akane said as she indicated Ryoga's unconscious and charred tiny oni body.

Kasumi came in and jolted back in surprise at seeing her sister's hair. Genma walked in, saw Ryoga, and held up a sign. 'Boy if that's your kid I'm going to be super pissed.' Needless to say he was electrocuted too that night.


	9. Crazy Kodachi

"My what a sweet girl you are. Here, have another pork bun on the house." A lonely male food vendor said to his rather charming female customer. 'Maybe I'll get to see her around here more often then.'

"Really? Thanks." The cute girl said happily. 'I hate acting like this, but it works so well.'

**Ch. 9 Crazy Kodachi**

Ranma was out for a walk in his oni form voluntarily, because she had a strong case of the munchies. 'Yep, when I need something to eat, this girl body's the way to go.' She thought as she bit into a pork bun, one of many held in a bag. Not all for her since Kasumi asked her to pick some up while she was out. But Ranma figured since she had 'earned' a few extras she had the rights to enjoy them.

Ranma was currently wearing one of the spare outfits she had acquired to wear over her tiger bikini. This particular one was a uniform worn by those that kept watch over Jusenkyo. Green and baggy to avoid showing off her figure with a cap to cover her horns. Not exactly the most fashionable outfit, but that didn't matter to Ranma since it was better than parading herself around in women's underwear.

The sound of objects hitting each other briefly caught Ranma's attention and made her look to her right. Behind a chain-link fence there was a group of people dressed in black gi's wearing bandages over their faces like mummies. Ranma couldn't make out any identifying features but assumed they were men since no bosoms were obvious. They all held gymnast rods like weapons for some reason and held a ready stance around a single target.

Unlike the mummies, the target wasn't hiding who they were. It was clearly a women, wearing a uniform from some school other than Furinkan, with black hair in a long ponytail that sprouted from the left side of her head. And she didn't stand in a stance but her gaze showed she didn't have her guard down.

'What kind of fight is this? Should I step in and do something about it?' Ranma briefly asked herself, then shook her head. 'Nah, wouldn't be honorable to invite myself into other people's matches like this.' She did however take a seat on top of a fence and start snacking on a bun, out of curiosity if nothing else.

"Ha. You penions think you're actually any threat to me? Kodachi the Black Rose?" The ponytailed woman asked with no small amount of confidence and vanity.

"We're just going to give you a taste of your own medicine!" One of the mummies replied as they all advanced on their target. Said target pulled out a gymnast ribbon and stretched it between her fingers before twirling it around herself. Everyone who came in contact with it reacted as if they had been hit with a steel rope.

'Whoa.' Ranma thought. 'That's no ordinary ribbon. She must channel her ki into it to make it a weapon like that. Like what Ryoga does with his bandannas.'

In no time, all of the bandaged fighters were down on the ground, moaning painfully and moving slowly. Kodachi looked completely unscratched, and not entirely satisfied. "How drull. You barely kept me entertained at all. Take this for wasting my time." She continued to strike her fallen opponents like a dominatrix might.

'Ok, now it's a good idea for me to step in.' Ranma thought before setting down the bag of buns and flying into the lot. She landed like it was a jump and grabbed ahold of the ribbon, using a small amount of her own ki to neutralize any of it's effects. "Don't ya think you're going too far?"

Kodachi arched an eyebrow. 'This girl...' "You, you caught my ribbon as if it were nothing?"

'Better put up an act.' Ranma thought. "Well, it is just a ribbon-tcha."

'She may prove to be an interesting adversary later on.' Kodachi thought. "I would say you would make a rather different experience for me, but alas my presence is needed elsewhere for the moment. We shall surely encounter each other again someday." She twirled her ribbon around herself, and from out of nowhere seemingly, countless black rose petals scattered all over the place. When they cleared, Kodachi was gone.

"Okay, she's a weird one." Ranma commented quietly, then heard the mummies started crying and badmouthing themselves. "C'mon, don't cry about it. You're men aren't you?"

"That's what you think." One of the mummies said as they tore off their bandages, revealing a girl's face with a few bruises and band-aids on. The other took off their own bandages, revealing they were somewhat injured girls too. "We're the Furinkan High gymnast club."

"My bad." Ranma said. 'These girls are in my class. Why were they involved in a fight?'

* * *

"You want me to what?" Akane asked. Apparently the gymnasts who faced Kodachi decided they needed to discuss something with Akane, but didn't tell Ranma that until after they already showed up at the Tendo dojo.

"You must do it Akane. No one else would be better for it." One of the girls told her. All members of the gymnast squad were in her room at the moment, along with Ranma who was simply curious. And still in female form. "We were supposed to be in a match against St. Hebereke School in a martial arts rhythmic gymnastics competition in a few days. But we're in no shape to fight by then."

"But I don't even know gymnastics. How can I take your place in the tournament?" Akane countered.

"You can learn it soon enough, right?" Another girl asked.

"How? Who will teach me?" Akane asked. She briefly gave Ranma a hopeful look.

The oni girl promptly shook her head. "Don't look at me. Gymnastics has 'girly' written all over it-tcha. Pop would never have let me pay attention to that stuff." Akane sighed, while the gymnasts were surprised to hear such a thing.

"Well, what about your own instructor?" Akane asked her guests.

"First target. This girl really fights dirty."

Remembering what her father once told her about turning down challenges, Akane made up her mind. "Alright, I'll avenge you."

While the gymnastics thanked her, Akane sighed again, wondering exactly how she'd do this. Then heard a throat being cleared and reflexively turned to see who it had been. It was Ryoga, normal form, leaning against her door frame. "If you want, I can give you a few pointers."

"And how would you know anything on this?" Akane suspiciously asked.

"I travel around a lot. I've seen a lot of stuff. Martial arts rhythmic gymnastics is just one of them."

"Guess getting lost all the time does have it's advantages." Akane remarked snidely.

"I'm not that bad." Ryoga defended.

"Oh yeah? You couldn't find your way out of an igloo." Ranma added, making Akane snicker for a moment at the mental image.

Ryoga frowned. "You want my help or not?"

"Guess I might as well see what he can do." Akane sighed. "Follow us to the dojo mister."

"We'll see you at school Akane. We'd stay longer to help you out, but... to be honest I think I need to go lay down for a while." One of the gymnasts said as she stood up. She wobbled a bit, giving her claim some validity.

"Yeah. Me too." Another added.

"Alright. Leave it to me." Akane told them.

After they left, Akane and Ranma led Ryoga to the dojo, keeping their eye on him to ensure he didn't wander off by accident. When they got there, Akane was able to get into a gi in a changing room and awaited to hear what Ryoga could teach her. She saw him standing in the center of the room holding some clubs and a hoop. Ranma was watching from the side, after using a tea kettle to return to male form.

"Your friends left these for you before they left. Anyways, let me explain what rhythmic gymnastics is before we start. Essentially, it's an armed form of combat designed to be showy for the sake of an audience. The first rule is you're forbidden from using unarmed techniques or strikes against your opponent. As long as you have a weapon, it's generally okay. And for the experienced fighters, there's a pretty loose definition of what qualifies as an acceptable weapon. Mostly nothing that's actually life-threatening or leaves a nasty wound."

He tossed her a club, but she didn't quite catch it so she had to pick it up off the floor. "The key things every fighter needs is grace, agility, flexibility, a good grip, and coordination. Without those, one has no chance of winning."

'I should have no problem then.' Akane thought with a light grin, picturing herself being all that and more.

"Let's see where you already are skillwise." Ryoga said as he tossed her a hoop. "Try a somersault with the hoop in your hands."

Akane did as told, assuming it would be easy, but was proven wrong when the hoop snapped in two places as she rolled. "What the...?"

"Were you supposed ta break the hoop?" Ranma asked semisarcastically.

"Ok, why don't you try swinging the clubs in your hands instead?" Ryoga suggested, wanting to give her something she could actually do right to start off with.

Akane tried but the clubs quickly flew out of her grasp. "Were you supposed ta drop them?" Ranma asked, earning him an angry look. Akane tried again but got the same result. After a third attempt, she stopped with the clubs and tried to twirl a ribbon like a gymnast would. Somehow, she managed to get herself entangled in it. "Are you supposed ta do that?" Ranma asked when she couldn't directly face him.

The rest of the practice went on in a very similar manner. Akane would try out a technique and either fumble or break the equipment. Sometimes even both. She didn't want to admit something was wrong, but eventually she starting crying on her knees. "I'm a klutz! I'm a klutz!"

"Akane, you're just a beginner. You didn't really expecta be an expert at it right away didya?" Ranma asked, trying to comfort the girl as best he knew how. Ryoga meanwhile had stepped outside for some fresh air, which may not have been such a good idea since he ended up tripping into the koi pond.

Akane rubbed the tears out of her eyes. "I just thought I'd be better than this at least. How am I ever going to get good enough for the match if I do stuff like this?"

"So that's it? One bad training session and you're gonna call it quits? And you call yourself a martial artist?" Ranma said as he stood up. Akane looked up at him, for once feeling surprise rather than anger at the jibe to her. "What kind of real martial artist would do such a thing? Didja give up your family art when things got a little tough? Or did you keep at it until you were good?"

"I... kept at it." Akane quietly answered, finding it hard to speak normally all of a sudden.

"So what makes ya think this style is any different?" Ranma added.

"Because... I'm older this time, not a little kid." Akane answered.

"So? You're still a beginner here."

"But I..." Akane started to argue, but whatever her claim was going to be died on her lips.

"Look Akane, I'm sure you can get it with practice. Just don't rush it." He added to make her feel better.

"Hey, you guys got any hot water?" Ryoga in his small oni form asked as he came back into the room dripping wet.

"Sorry JariRyoga, try the kitchen." Akane answered snidely.

"JariRyoga?" Ryoga and Ranma asked in tandem.

Akane smiled, amused. "Sure. Since he tends to act bratty and childish, why not call him that when he actually is a child?"

"I'm not bratty or childish." Ryoga defended himself.

Akane just narrowed her eyes at him. "Well so far you haven't done anything to prove me wrong."

"Hey you want my help or not?"

"Fine, just go turn back. Oh, Ranma, lead the way for him so he doesn't get lost."

* * *

The next evening Akane was still practicing how to use the weapons without breaking them in her movements. It was tough because Rhythmic Gymnastics required a lot of concentration but Akane was taught in the Tendo style of Anything Goes which didn't require that amount of focus. Akane was so used to just rushing at her opponents and delivering force that this style was practically the exact opposite of her normal movements. It was sort of like trying to make a rhino run like an antelope.

After a while she decided to stop. She took a bath and went to her room, wondering where Ranma and Ryoga were. The lost boy was pretty much staying at the dojo to help out Akane but he slept outside. Fortunately it was the weekend so they had all day for Akane to practice.

When Akane fell backwards on her bed she certainly wasn't expecting to see someone on her ceiling. The fact that it was a woman rather than a man didn't help much, especially since this woman was holding a large wooden mallet too similar to the one Akane used when infuriated.

The intruder quickly dropped from the ceiling and tried to crush Akane with her wooden weapon. Akane moved out of the way, avoiding one of the most ironic attacks of all time, and got into her normal defensive stance. "Who the hell are you?"

Her uninvited guest looked somewhat offended that her opponent didn't know her name. "Why, I'm Kodachi Kuno, the black rose of martial arts gymnastics. And I've learned you are to be my foe in the upcoming match."

"So you're the one who beat up the other girls so they couldn't participate? You're nothing but a lousy cheater."

"Cheater?" Kodachi sounded surprised. "I am no such thing. I believe firmly in fighting in all fairness... _before_ the match that is."

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard." Akane shouted.

"Enough banter." Kodachi claimed as she raised her mallet for another strike.

At that moment the door to Akane's room burst open and two onis charged in. Ryoga was trying to get away from an angry and smoldering Ranma, and he was flying at a decent speed due to the adrenaline in his system. Neither one seemed to be paying attention to where they were.

"What the hell? I better get out of here for now." Kodachi told herself, not comprehending what she was seeing. So she twirled her ribbon and from out of nowhere a swarm of black rose petals filled the air, allowing her to get away. At the same time both onis left the room, neither one aware what had been going on around them.

Akane looked out her now open window, trying to ignore the mess her room now was. It wasn't working if her clenching the windowsill was any indication. "Who... is going to clean up this mess?" Her tone of voice clearly stated 'Not me!'

Meanwhile, Kodachi was up on the roof of the Tendo house, plotting her next move and trying to make sense of what she just saw. 'Clearly this harletton has some rather eccentric aides. That just means I have more targets to incapacitate than anticipated. No matter, I can handle it just fine."

Now the chase between onis was taken outside and to the air. Ryoga tried to burn Ranma again but she was too agile for him and her lightning had a long reach, so he had to resort to keeping his distance. He tried flying to the other side of the house and flew past Kodachi, somehow not seeing her in the process.

Kodachi was confused, and figured that must have been an advanced jumping maneuver that only made him look like he was flying. Since she had the roof-hopping skill it was easy for her to believe that. She turned to see another coming her direction and decided to deal with this one. She pulled out a black rose bouquet and Ranma immediately flew face first into it. The result, paralysis, was immediate, and Ranma fell on her back on the roof, unable to move or fly.

Kodachi got a good look at her prey. Luckily Ranma's bandanna hid her horns. 'Hmm... she moves swiftly but dressed rather inappropriately.' Of course she ignored the fact that she was wearing a leotard at the moment and did so in public on a number of occasions. 'Wait a minute, she looks an awful lot like that girl that caught my ribbon the other day.' The green hair was a bit of a giveaway.

'What the? It's that girl from the other day. What's she doing here?' Ranma asked herself, also recognizing the other person on the roof but unable to actually say anything.

"So you're in league with the other girl? Well I can't have her be helped when it comes to our match." The female Kuno stated casually as she got ready to beat up her new target.

Ranma instinctively got angry and without even intending to, created a large surge of electricity that struck Kodachi head-on. The paralysis drug didn't affect that ability since it required no motion. Kodachi blacked out once the attack stopped and fell to the ground unconscious.

* * *

The next day at Furinkan, when Ranma could move again, one of the gymnasts that asked Akane to compete approached her before class. "Hey Akane, did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

"The match has been called off. Apparently the contender from the other school got really hurt and is in a hospital now. And apparently she's the one that issued the challenge and none of the other gymnasts there really want to take her place so they called the whole thing off. Looks like you won't have to fight in our place after all. But thanks though."

Akane was surprised, but also in a way glad. As much as she wanted to show off her skills, she feared making a fool of herself in the match. But now she was off the hook.


	10. Enjoying Oneself

"C'mon Ranma, just try it with me." Akane pleaded to her reluctant fiancee, tugging his hand.

"Naw thanks. I'll look like an idiot. And I'm not turning inta an oni for it. There's no way in hell I'm gonna iceskate in a bikini." He countered firmly.

**Ch. 10 Enjoying Oneself**

It was a week after the two had encountered Kodachi Kuno, and winter was starting to settle in. As a result, they were both wearing their coats and more insulating clothes, but Akane was wearing a scarf as well. And since the cold part of the year was getting started, Akane decided to do one of her favorite seasonal activities, iceskating. And in an unofficial effort to try and bond somewhat with her fiancee, she invited Ranma along. The two were currently at an indoor ice rink that had a cafe included, since it wasn't cold enough for any outdoor ones to safely be in use.

"C'mon Ranma haven't you ever iceskated before?"

"Nope. And I'm not really interested in fallin' on my face on some ice."

"Hey, if you can walk on fences you can balance on iceskates." Akane told him, her own pair already on her feet and offering him a pair, having already found out his shoe size when she asked him before he knew what she had in mind. "Besides, you owe me for wrecking my match."

"So you actually wanted to be near a Kuno?" Ranma asked sarcastically. Oddly enough, neither Ranma or Akane realized Kodachi was connected to Tatewaki until he mentioned his sister was in the hospital for electrocution. Until then, the connection between the two was simply overlooked by both of them. Probably because one Kuno was already one too many to them.

"Well I never get tired of hitting them."

"Sometimes I think neither does the one at our school." Ranma added, making Akane giggle.

"Anyway Ranma, give me one good reason why you don't want to iceskate since we're already here." Akane told him to get back on the original topic of discussion.

"Cause it's not really my thing, and a guy that can't skate looks stupid."

"It looks stupid when you're a girl too. But at least then you'd be able to hover enough to keep your balance. And if you stay low enough it'll look like you're skating."

"And what exactly would I wear over my oni form's normal clothes?" Ranma asked. "I doubt this place gives clothes and skates."

"Oh I'm sure they may have some skater uniforms you could borrow."

Even though Ranma couldn't really picture such uniforms in his mind, having never seen them before on his travels, he knew it was a bad idea to agree. "No way."

"C'mon it won't kill you." Akane was starting to get hot under the collar over this argument. 'Jeez I was just trying to have fun with him and he has to be so stubborn and difficult.'

"Akane, if you turned inta a guy would you be so eager to dress up like one?" Ranma asked.

Akane blinked in surprise. She never thought of it that way. She just assumed Ranma was being immature. But if the situation was reversed, she had to admit the idea of willingly pretending to be a man would be a disturbing one to her. Why should it be any different to a man being told to act like a woman?

Akane sighed in resignation. "I'm sorry Ranma. I guess I didn't take your feelings into consideration just then. I just thought it might be nice if we both did this."

Now Ranma felt guilty over his own refusal. "Alright, if it means that much to you I'll give it a shot. But I'm staying male."

Akane smiled in a way her fiancee admitted to himself was cute. "Thanks Ranma." She then helped him put on his skates and the two went onto the rink. Ranma stepped on the ice slowly and kept a hold of the handlebar on the surrounding wall to keep himself supported. While he may be able to balance on fencetops, he didn't do that right on the first step either.

While those two were trying to have fun, Ryoga happened to wind up in the ice rink while trying to get directions to his home district. And for reasons even he didn't understand, got soaked from a burst pipe and changed to his oni form. He groaned, but saw Ranma and Akane on the ice and hoped they could help him get back to normal. It would be much easier than trying to find the restroom for hot water on his own.

Rather than make a spectacle of himself and fly to them, he had to settle for waddling directly across the ice. This was almost as bad since he wore no skates, just a diaper and a headband on such a cold slippery surface. Naturally he fell down a few times. On his third fall, he saw a large shadow form over him from behind. When he looked up over his shoulder, he saw a young woman around Akane's age with long brown hair and wearing a frilly white and light lavender skater outfit. She was smiling at him with her hands clasped closely to her, but there was something about her that made Ryoga nervous.

"How cute. Does Ten-chan want to come home with Mommy?" She asked in a kiddish way.

'What the hell? Is something wrong with this girl?' Ryoga quickly asked himself, afraid to stick around and find out. He tried to scurry away, but this girl hit him on the head to knock him out.

Once the young oni was out cold, the skater lifted him up to hug him and nuzzle her cheek against him. A few people had seen this go on but were too confused to bother getting involved.

Ranma and Akane didn't noticed this right away, as both were more focused on getting Ranma able to stand up on his skates. His heightened sense of balance helped out quite a bit, but once he tried to move forward things got trickier for him. When he fell down on his rear, he then noticed an unconscious oni-Ryoga in a strange girl's arms. "Hey Akane, take a look at that." He said in a somewhat mocking way while pointing.

Akane did look, and wasn't quite sure what to think on the situation. Sure she had no real care for Ryoga, but felt she might as well help the girl avoid something embarrassing. "Stay there, I'll take care of this." She said before she skated away.

"You've seen me skate, how exactly can I not stay here?" Ranma mumbled.

Akane got up to the girl and politely asked her something to catch her attention. "Excuse me, but why exactly are you carrying that?"

The girl blinked in confusion. "I'm taking Ten-chan home with me."

'Ten-chan? What a weird nickname.' Akane quickly thought. 'Hey, is she maybe a relative of his trying to take him home?' "By any chance, is your family name Hibiki?"

"No, my name's Azusa Shiratori. I've never heard of anyone named Hibiki."

"Well, that little guy is named Hibiki so what's your business with him?" Akane asked.

"I told you. I'm taking him home to be with my other collectibles." Azusa answered, starting to get bothered.

"Collectibles?" Akane asked. "What exactly do you collect?"

"Anything that's cute and not nailed down. Usually I give them western names but this cute guy looks more like a Ten-chan than anything else." Azusa plainly told Akane.

'What is this girl? A crazy klepto?' The young Tendo asked herself. Then she shrugged. "Fine. Take him I don't care. Just be careful if and when you give him a warm bath." She then skated away back to Ranma, leaving Ryoga to an unknown fate.

Fortunately he didn't get to become one of Azusa's collectibles, for he regained consciousness in her arms and decided he wanted to get the hell outta there. Acting rashly, he quickly decided the best way to get free was to set his captor on fire. So the next thing Azusa knew, she was aflame, and instantly dropped her prisoner and ran screaming to a water source.

Ranma and Akane, among everyone else in the area, saw this, but only they knew what it meant. Akane sighed before turning to Ranma. "C'mon, let's get that little pyro outta here before he makes things worse." Ranma nodded, and the two forcibly grabbed Ryoga and took him out of the ice rink.

One guy named Mikado Sanzenin watched Azusa run and had one thought go thru his mind. 'Well, I hope this teaches my ditzy partner a thing or two about taking things. And I suppose I better go put her out, lest she be unable to continue practicing our combo.'

* * *

"You're a real pain you know that?" Akane said to Ryoga while she held him to make sure he didn't try doing something stupid.

"What did I do? She was trying to kidnap me!" Ryoga yelled defensively.

"Why were you there in the first place?" Akane asked.

Ryoga sighed. "I'm trying to get back home. But I can't find the place."

"Why didn't you say so? I can show you the way." Ranma offered.

"You can?" Akane asked, surprised.

Ranma nodded. "Remember we went to school together? How do you think he found his way to and from school every day back then? I helped him."

"You still remember where it is?" Akane asked.

"Yep. It should be no problem."

"Is it alright if I come?" Akane asked.

"Why?" Ranma and Ryoga asked back.

"Well... chances are JariRyoga here is going to get lost again. And if he shows up back at our place and you're not there then I can at least make sure he gets back." Akane stated. She didn't bother mentioning that another reason was she just didn't feel like going home yet and had nothing better to do.

"Alright, sounds fine by me." Ranma stated. "Quickest way to get there would be by train since he lives in another district. No offense Akane, but I doubt ya can run fast enough ta keep up."

"Why not just fly?" Akane asked.

Ranma blinked. "In broad daylight where anyone can look up and see me? Are ya serious?"

Akane sighed. "Fine, train it is." 'Damn, I was really hoping he could give me a ride. It looks so fun.'

* * *

It was late in the afternoon, nearing sunset, by the time everyone made it to Ryoga's house. By now Ryoga was in his true form, because Akane didn't want people to see her and Ranma with a baby.

The house itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary, except that the grass needed to be mowed and weeded. A small wall encompassed the property much like the Tendo estate, but it wasn't as tall. Akane guessed it was there to make it harder for the directionally-challenged people to wander away from home.

There was a dog flap on the front door and out came a dog as soon as they set foot in the area. This dog didn't look fierce, but had the oddest color pattern for it's fur that Akane had ever seen. Half of it was completely black, while the other half was completely white. It was like two different dogs had been split in half from nose to tail and put together as one. Ranma wasn't surprised since he had seen the dog before when younger.

Ryoga smiled and knelt down to pet his dog. "Hey Checkers. Miss me?" The dog barked in a confirming way.

"What a weird-looking dog." Akane whispered to Ranma.

"I thought so too first time I saw her. But she's good for them. Helps Ryoga find his way back, as long as he remembers ta take her with him when he goes out." Ranma whispered back.

"I'm guessing he doesn't as much as he should." Akane added, and Ranma slowly nodded.

Ryoga unlocked the front door and disabled the trap for intruders. "Thanks you guys. Wanna come in for a minute before you go back?"

Ranma and Akane looked at each other before turning back to him. "Thanks." The two stepped inside. Akane headed down the hallway to find the restroom, not bothering to ask where it was since Ryoga probably couldn't find things in his own house. Ranma just leaned against the wall. "Looks just like the last time I was here. Maybe a bit dustier though."

Ryoga ran a finger against a mantle to see how thick the layer of dust was. "I'd say no one's been here for at least two weeks."

"Shame your dog can't do housework." Ranma commented.

Ryoga walked into the kitchen and checked the fridge. Luckily the only things in there were things that didn't go bad relatively soon. Some of the cupboards would have to be cleared of expired food though. He pulled out two soda cans and passed one to Ranma. "Here. Might as well be hospitable since you brought me here." His voice showed he wasn't fond of the idea too much.

Ranma sighed, sat down on the couch, and opened his can to take a drink. When he stopped, he started talking. "Ryoga, are you still upset over what happened years ago? Get over it already."

Ryoga glared. "Easy for you to say."

"Why? I got cursed too and I don't like it any more than you do. In a way yer luckier since you at least stay male."

"_I'm _the lucky one?" Ryoga asked in disbelief. "If it weren't for you, it never would have happened in the first place!"

"Well don't say it like I planned it out!" Ranma argued. "Is that what you think? That I intentionally left so you'd follow me to China and get a curse?"

Initially, Ryoga wanted to say 'yes', just because he wanted to keep accusing Ranma of being dishonorable. However, he knew that particular accusation wasn't true. Ranma never backed away from a challenge willingly, and if he knew he was being followed he'd do something about it. And it was unlikely he'd go so far as to curse himself on purpose just to catch Ryoga off guard.

Before Ryoga could say anything more, Ranma continued. "Look Ryoga, I'm sorry you got cursed. I really am. If beating me up is the only thing that will make ya feel better then fine, let's go out back and get it out of yer system." He even stood up to show he was serious, but none of his body language showed he expected a fight.

Ryoga smirked. 'Finally, I get my chance to beat the crap out of him, make him suffer like I had because of him. Heh, maybe I'll even get some water so I can burn him when I'm done.' But when he turned around so both could go outside, he saw an irate Akane with her arms crossed in front of her. "Out of the way."

Instead of answering, Akane just slugged him in the jaw, knocking him out cold. She smiled, but stopped when she saw Ranma looked upset. "What's wrong Ranma?"

"Why'd ya do that Akane?"

"Because I heard what you said to him, and I saw from the way you held yourself that you had no intention of hitting him back in the fight." Akane answered. "You look the same way when I ask you to spar. I figured this creep here knew that and had every intention of beating you to a pulp and enjoying it because you wouldn't defend yourself."

"Maybe that's what it'll take to make him stop this grudge." Ranma suggested.

Akane slowly shook her head. "I doubt it. I have a feeling if you did that, he'd just come back for more and guilt-trip you again. And besides, I really didn't want to have to ride next to someone bruised and bloody on the train back home tonight."

"Oh, that reminds me. If we take the train, we might not make it back until way after dinner, maybe around bedtime. Should we call your family and warn them, or... try the quick way?"

Akane arched an eyebrow. "The quick way? What's that?"

Ranma looked outside, where the sun was already down and all that was left of it was a soft orange glow on the horizon. "I can give ya a lift myself. Now that it's dark, it should be no problem, unless you're heavier than ya look."

Akane frowned, but the prospect of finally getting a free flight via Air Oni-Ranma was too good to let her temper flare. "Sure. I'd like that. And no I'm not fat."

"Didn't say you were." Ranma added as he went into the kitchen for some water. He changed into his oni form, wrote Ryoga a note saying they left, and went out back with Akane to avoid attracting too much attention. "Hop on." She knelt down and Akane got into position on her back.

"Have you ever tried this before?" Akane asked.

"Once in China. I had to help a girl who was falling out of tall tree. She was smaller but I barely felt any weight when I carried her." Ranma answered. "Maybe I'm stronger when I'm an oni-tcha. Anyway, hold on." She then lifted off into the air, quickly to avoid any witnesses but not too quickly to avoid dropping her passenger.

Once in the air, Akane briefly got nervous, closed her eyes, and tightened her hold on her fiancee. Ranma sensed her momentary fear and tightened her own hold, which inadvertently made her hands brush against Akane's rear to keep her in place. Akane blushed, but didn't call attention to it. Mainly because she then opened her eyes and took in a beautiful view of the city.

Ranma soared high enough that she felt she couldn't be easily seen, and then flew towards Nerima. Akane had to lift her head to keep the moving green hair out of her face, and started to truly enjoy the feeling of flying. The wind in her face and her hair, the beauty of the ground beneath her from a birds-eye view, and the feeling of freedom. It was... marvelous to Akane.

"Hey, how fast can you go?" Akane eagerly asked, starting to feel like a kid on a carnival ride.

"You want speed? Here we go-tcha." Ranma went much faster, so fast they passed several birds and maybe a couple of bats. Akane's smile grew and she started to laugh playfully.

The trip back to the Tendo dojo ended much too quickly for Akane's liking. Ranma slowed down and let them gently land in the backyard. Akane hopped off and hugged Ranma on the front side. "Thank you. That was so much fun. Promise me we'll do it again someday."

"Sure. It was pretty fun for me too-tcha."

"Oh, one more thing." Akane playfully added before flicking her finger against the oni's forehead.

"What was that for?" Ranma asked.

"That was for copping a feel. Keep your hands in safe areas next time." Akane told her before going inside. 'Weird. If it had been anyone else I'd try to snap their neck. Why didn't it bother me too much when Ranma did that time?'


	11. Oni Weirdness

The next morning, Akane was still in a good mood from the flight she had with Ranma back from Ryoga's house. She couldn't remember the last time she felt so excited by something. She was already imagining future rides where Ranma moved more like a roller coaaster, with loops included.

"I oughta do something for him today." Akane mumbled to herself as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "I know. I'll cook him something."

**Ch. 11 Oni Weirdness**

Kasumi was already in the kitchen getting breakfast started when Akane came down. "Good morning Akane. You're up early for a weekend."

"Yeah, I wanted to make something for Ranma." The younger Tendo said.

Kasumi momentarily froze, for reasons that didn't need to be explained. "You sure about that, Akane?"

"I can cook, sis. And I'm sure he'll like it."

Kasumi sighed and continued on her business. 'There's no way I can stop her. But... maybe I shouldn't try to. If she's trying to please Ranma, maybe this time it will finally be decent at least. Besides, the fact that she's actually cooking for him already is kind of sweet. Still, I better keep an eye on what she uses and how.'

Soon the sounds of Ranma and Genma in their morning spar were heard out back, quickly becoming a familiar sound in the morning. But unfortunately for Nabiki not so familiar that she could ignore it and keep sleeping. 'Dammit, I gotta buy some earplugs. Today.' She grumpily thought while she pulled the covers over her head in a futile effort to go back to sleep.

Soun came down and begged for some coffee. Kasumi already had a pot made for him and Nabiki, since neither were morning people and Soun often needed to be sobered up some nights. With Genma around, those nights were becoming a little more frequent. Soun sat down at the table, had a sip, then looked in the kitchen to see that Akane was doing something in there. Naturally, he panicked. "Kasumi, please tell me Akane isn't..."

"She's not, Father. Not for you anyway. She's trying to make something for Ranma, as a way to be nice." Kasumi quickly soothed him.

The Soun Waterworks immediately started working as if activated by a switch. "Oh that's great. She must be taking the engagement seriously. Perhaps we should get started on planning the wedding."

Kasumi shook her head slowly. "No Father, now's not the time. She and Ranma still need to get to know each other better." She then leaned in closer to whisper. "Besides, shouldn't Ranma know what to expect from Akane's cooking before you try that?"

"You do have a point." Soun whispered back. 'I just pray it won't ruin their chances.'

After a bit, Nabiki came downstairs and moaned like a zombie for coffee, which was already available. Kasumi went back into the kitchen to finish breakfast and keep eye on Akane's creation. So far it at least looked normal. Meanwhile, Soun, had something to say to his middle daughter. "Nabiki, don't panic or laugh, but right now Akane is cooking something for Ranma."

Nabiki's eyes widened and she spit out her coffee all over her father, making him almost look like he just bathed in mud. She coughed for a few moments, then looked semi-apologetic towards him. "Don't say things like that when I'm drinking." Soun said nothing, just went into the kitchen for a paper towel. Nabiki looked out back to see the sparring Saotomes, feeling a moment of sympathy for the agony Ranma was about to go thru. 'Sorry buddy, but this I gotta see.'

In no time breakfast was done and Kasumi called Ranma and Genma inside. As expected the two got wet during their match and changed. Not bothering to change back, they simply sat down and awaited their food. Akane personally brought in one plate and placed in in front of Ranma. She was a bit confused why Akane did that, and why all the other Tendo's gave her such looks.

"Ranma, Akane was nice enough to make this for you. I hope you find it satisfactory." Kasumi told him.

"Really? Thanks Akane." Ranma said as she picked up her set of chopsticks. The meal wasn't anything terrific, just some rice topped with leftover shrimp from last night covered in sauce and some miso soup on the side. It looked completely normal, and yet all of Akane's relatives looked at it like it was radioactive. Ranma didn't notice that all eyes were on her, except for Genma's because he was already wolfing down his own meal. He was specifically seated away from Ranma so he wouldn't try to snatch his son's food this time, mostly for his own well-being. Ranma grabbed a piece of sauce-covered shrimp with some rice and placed it in her mouth and started chewing. After a few chews, she stopped and her eyes widened considerably.

'Here it comes.' All Tendos except Akane thought in anticipation and dread, only one of them actually trying to enjoy this.

'I hope he likes it. I really tried my hardest this time.' Akane herself cautiously thought.

Ranma looked down at her plate, then back to Akane. "This is delicious! Datcha!"

"What?" Soun, Nabiki, and Kasumi all but shouted, with Nabiki being the loudest. Soun facefaulted and Nabiki came close to, but Kasumi showed no such reaction.

"Really? You like it?" Akane happily asked.

Ranma didn't answer; she was now too busy shoveling the rest of the food into her mouth. After a bit she slowed down to avoid choking. "I swear this is the best thing I've ever eaten in my life-tcha. Please tell me you made more!"

Akane was so happy right now that if Ranma had been a boy she most likely would have kissed him right then and there. So she settled for hugging the oni again. "Thank you so much. And yes there actually is a little more left if you'd like it."

"Hell yeah!"

Nabiki leaned in to whisper to Kasumi. "Something is seriously wrong here." Kasumi couldn't help but nod.

At seeing how much Ranma enjoyed his meal, Genma naturally decided to take some of it for himself. He managed to snatch some of the rice and a small piece of shrimp and eat it before Ranma could stop him. Next thing he knew, the tiger-cow started gagging and fell on the floor clutching his stomach.

"Hey what's wrong with ya Pop?" Ranma asked, still unable to pull herself away from her meal.

"Hmm... I wonder." Nabiki said softly before carefully reaching to get a small bit of Ranma's rice for herself. She hadn't deliberately tasted anything Akane made in years, and still didn't want to, but was curious about what was going on. She tasted it, and grimaced. "Yuck. Disgusting."

"Whaddya mean Nabiki? This stuff's great-tcha." Ranma countered.

"Kasumi, go get some hot water. I've got a theory here." Nabiki told her older sister. Kasumi complied and soon Ranma was turned back into a boy. Akane brought him his second serving at the same time, even adding in a pickled plum as a small treat. "Now try it Ranma-baby."

Ranma eagerly dug in, but quickly found the flavor was different this time. And in a bad way, a very, very bad way. He spat it out, heedless of any table manners as usual. "Agh! That was the worst thing I've ever eaten."

Akane looked crestfallen. Nabiki however used her glass of drinking water to turn Ranma back into an oni. "Try it now. I think I've got this figured out."

Ranma cautiously took another bite, and was surprised. "Hey, it's good again. What gives?"

"Just as I thought." Nabiki said. "Apparently Akane's cooking tastes good only to your cursed form." She turned to face her younger sister. "I always did feel your food wasn't fit for human consumption, but apparently oni's like it." Akane burst into tears and ran upstairs.

"Akane?" Ranma asked, then turned to the other Tendo's. "What's that about?"

"Let me explain, Ranma." Kasumi started. "You see, Akane's not exactly the best cook in the world."

"Not the best? She can't even make a peanut butter sandwich taste decent." Nabiki commented.

"Anyway, she tries her hardest, but for some reason everything she makes turns out to be... well, terrible. No one has ever liked anything she's made, until now. What Nabiki said pretty much struck a nerve with her."

Nabiki didn't look remorseful. "It's nothing she hasn't heard before."

Ranma stood up slowly, holding her plate. "I better go talk to her for a bit-tcha." She flew upstairs rather than walked. Kasumi and Nabiki went back to their own breakfast while Soun tried to help his friend recover.

* * *

Akane was sitting at her desk crying and looking out the window. A knock at her door did nothing to catch her attention. "Akane? Can I come in?" Ranma asked, but Akane didn't answer. Ranma knocked again, and still she ignored her fiancee. Not out of spite, but sorrow. She didn't want Ranma to see her as some sort of crybaby at her age.

Problem was, in a way, that was exactly what Akane was. Akane was the sort of person who took everything personally, only instead of balling her eyes out like her father did, Akane's usual manner of temper tantrum was to beat the crap out of the one that pissed her off. But she couldn't do that to Nabiki, so she only really had crying as an option.

After she wiped most of her tears away, Akane got up and opened her door. There in front of her was a hovering oni Ranma still holding the breakfast she made for him/her. "What do you want?"

"I'd like ya to not be upset, but not sure how to help you-tcha."

"I'm fine." Akane lied.

"Sure. Your eyes are always red and puffy when you're fine." Ranma sarcastically replied. Akane frowned. "Look, you made me something hoping I'd like it. And I do-tcha. So why are you so sad about it?"

Akane sighed and hung her head. "Nabiki... kind of crossed a line for me. I hate it when people tell me my food tastes bad, but she actually rubbed it in this time. That was really mean of her."

"Want me to zap her?"

"Not now. How about a raincheck on that?" Akane weakly joked. Then she noticed her fiancee still had some food with you. "Why'd you bring that?"

"I told you, it's the best thing I've ever eaten, even if I have to be a girl for it to taste good-tcha. And I didn't want anyone to throw it out before I was done." Ranma answered.

Akane smiled. "Thanks, that means a lot to me. And someday I swear I'll be able to make something that you can enjoy as a boy too."

Ranma smiled, and kept eating everything but the pickled plum. She tended to save things like that for last, if Genma didn't get to it first. "Wanna go back downstairs now?" Akane nodded. When the two reentered the eating room, Ranma went into the kitchen and put the plate with the other dirty dishes. Then she ate the pickled plum she had been carrying. All of a sudden, Ranma seemed to lose her balance and fall over.

"Ranma?" Kasumi asked and went up to see her since she was the closest.

"What's wrong?" Akane asked, quickly sticking her head into the kitchen.

"Ranma fell down." Kasumi said as she lifted the oni girl up.

Akane arched an eyebrow. "Wasn't she flying though?"

Ranma then got herself up and looked at the two Tendo's. However, she looked somewhat sleepy with her eyes not fully opened and a hot blush was across her cheeks. "Hey what's going on here?" She asked in a nonserious, slurring way.

"Ranma, are you alright?" Kasumi asked.

"Yeah 'hic' never better-tcha. I feel reeeeeally good." Ranma starting hovering in the air.

Kasumi and Akane shared a look. There was no need to ask what was going on; they had seen this in their father many, many times over their lives. They didn't know how, but somehow Ranma was currently drunk.

"Did you give her any sake?" Akane asked.

"No. I didn't even see her drink anything. All I did see was her eat a single pickled plum." Kasumi answered.

"Wait, you think that might be it?" Akane asked, finding it hard to believe.

"It's possible." Kasumi stated. 'If Ranma's oni form can find your food edible, who knows how other foods affect it.'

"Is anyone else cold?" Ranma asked while she started to lightly shiver.

"It's winter, and you're in a bikini. What do you expect?" Akane responded. "C'mon, I'll get you something warm." Akane took, or more like led, Ranma to the furo. For some reason, the idea of simply grabbing a coat didn't cross her mind.

Once in the furo, Akane was surprised to see Soun was already in the room. No he wasn't naked, but he was shirtless and about to remove his pants. Before Akane could see something she really, _really_ didn't want to see, she slammed the door shut and began panting in a panic. "I _really_ need to get in the habit of knocking first."

"Akane, did you need something?" Soun asked his daughter thru the door.

"Ranma just needs to warm up Dad. Can he share with you?" Akane asked. 'It should be okay. Ranma will be a boy again as soon as he gets in the water. And Dad should know a few things on how to soothe drunks by now.'

"I suppose, if he's going to be quick about it." The Tendo patriarch answered.

"Okay Ranma go in." Akane told the floating girl.

"But I dawn't need a bath." Ranma complained.

"Just do it." Akane added with a light glare.

"Fine." Ranma sighed then flew into the room and dropped herself into the tub, never bothering to remove her clothes. She even completely submerged herself for some drunken reason. When she, now he, came up for air, he held his head like he had a hangover. "Agh, my head."

"Something wrong son?" Soun asked.

"I don't know." He answered as he stood up. "My head hurts and I feel sick."

"Like a migraine or a hangover?"

Ranma shook his head, then gagged on the urge to vomit. "Dunno. Never had either."

"You better go lay down, and get into dry clothes." Soun suggested. Ranma weakly replied that he would.

When Ranma stepped out, Akane was standing there with a towel and a worried expression. "Feeling any better now Ranma?"

He nodded, but didn't look it. "Got any aspirin or anything? My head's killing me."

"I'll ask Kasumi. Dry off while I get you some new clothes." Akane told him as she offered him the towel then left the room. "You don't feel sick to your stomach do you?"

Ranma almost stumbled. "Actually, now that you mention it, I kinda do."

'Yep, definitely a hangover.' Akane thought. "Go to the toilet just in case, and then lay down in your room. I'll check on you in just a bit." She then left the room to go get the hangover treatments they kept for Soun.

When Akane got some pills to relieve the tension, she brought them up to Ranma's room and just walked in. Before her was the sight of Ranma in only his boxers, wet clothes on a rope to dry, passed out on his futon on his back. She blushed, then set the bottle of medicine down on a nightstand and pulled his blanket over him before walking out.

'That sure was awkward, walking in on a boy barely dressed.' Akane quickly thought once she was in the hallway. 'I guess it could have been worse, like if I walked in on him completely naked. Or maybe even in the furo when I would probably be naked too. Can't imagine what I'd do if that happpened to Ranma and me.'

* * *

Later that same day Ranma and Akane were out walking to try and get Ranma some fresh air. He was still recovering from his hangover, but luckily it was fading.

"So yer telling me that a pickled plum made me drunk?" Ranma asked, not really buying it.

"You didn't drink any alcohol did you? What other explanation is there?"

Ranma shrugged. "So no more of those for me then."

"Just your oni form actually." Akane pointed out. "And even so, turning you back into your male human form appears to have cancelled out the drunkenness."

"Why does anyone get drunk if hangovers feel like that anyway?" Ranma asked.

Akane shrugged. "No idea."

Just then, the old woman with the ladle came out to wash her sidewalk and without realizing it hit Ranma. At least he had been wearing a coat which didn't change, so his cursed form wasn't fully exposed in public. Still, bikini's were not good things to wear in the beginning of winter. "Brrr... why did she have to do that? Can't she use a broom or something?"

"Let's go see Dr. Tofu then." Akane suggested. "By the way, you still feel normal right?"

"I'm cold, but normal-tcha. Why?"

"Just wondered for a sec if changing back would make you drunk or not." Akane answered.

On the route to Tofu' clinic someone jumped in front of both girls and made a crater in the ground. This someone turned out to be a Chinese woman with long purple hair, silk clothes that looked quite enticing, and with a bonbori in each hand.

"Ranma. I find you."


	12. Shampoo Arrives

On the route to Tofu' clinic someone jumped in front of both girls and made a crater in the ground. This someone turned out to be a Chinese woman with long purple hair, silk clothes that looked quite enticing, and with a bonbori in each hand.

"Ranma. I find you."

**Ch. 12 Shampoo Arrives**

"Sha-Shampoo?" Ranma asked, shaking with fear. "W-w-what are you doing in Japan?"

The purple-haired girl ignored the question and swung at the green-haired girl with her bonbori. Ranma dodged effortlessly but Shampoo swung again with her second one. "Ranma die!"

Akane watched in shock and confusion. 'What's going on here? Is she really trying to kill Ranma?'

Shampoo tried to crush Ranma's skull with her blunt weapon, only for the oni to grab it and swing on top of the blunt end, standing on her hands. Shampoo spun it and Ranma lost balance, but recovered it thanks to her flying ability. "You're the one person," Ranma said as she tried to kick Shampoo, "I just can't stand!"

Shampoo deflected with her left arm, but had to drop her bonbori to do so in time. The she grabbed Ranma's leg and tried to hold her in place to administer a hit with her other one. "Got you!"

"Not yet!" Ranma said before getting covered in electricity.

Shampoo let go to avoid getting shocked, and Ranma flew off quickly. Shampoo growled and chased after her. Since her weapons were wood rather than metal, they weren't too conductive so she was spared from any conductive voltage.

Akane just stood there looking in the direction they went. "What was that all about?"

* * *

About an hour later, Akane got her answer. She first tried to find Ranma after she ran off but couldn't locate Ranma in either form anywhere. Once she got home however, she saw the gender-bender in male form waiting for her in the dining room. "Start talking mister. Who was that girl?" She didn't mean to come across so harshly, but she didn't like not knowing things.

The young man gave her a flat look due to her tone of voice. "She's not a friend if that's what you're worried about."

"I could tell from her death threats. So why was she trying to kill you?" Akane said as she sat down next to him.

Ranma cleared his throat. "It all started shortly after I got cursed."

-Flashback-

Ranma in female oni form and Genma in tiger-cow form, which at this point in time still creeped Ranma out, were following the Jusenkyo guide into a nearby village. Ranma had a loaned white gi on over her bikini to protect her modesty and the now common for her white bandanna to cover her horns. So for all basic purposes, she looked like a normal Japanese martial arts student with green hair.

"Here sirs is famed Joketsuzoku, known by many as Amazon tribe of Jusendo. Village full of warrior women who are very strong in martial arts and magics." The guide said in his stereotypical broken dialect as he showed them around.

'Hopefully they'll have a cure or something.' Ranma thought.

'With any luck, I'll find a cure and these 'warrior women' will prove even more to Ranma how weak girls are.' Genma told himself. Why else would he approve of going to an Amazonian village?

They saw a large crowd gathered in the center of town, with probably the entire population gathered there. Or at least the entire female population, all wearing a variety of silken Chinese clothes in various colors and designs. They looked at a log hanging by ropes at each end tied to wooden posts, creating a sort of dangling balance beam.

On top of the log beam were two fighters, indicating this was some sort of sparring showcase for the village. One of the fighters was a young girl close to Ranma's age with long purple hair, white clothes with black flower imprints, black chest armor, and a bonbori in each hand. She wore a look of pure confidence and determination, with maybe a small amount of arrogance, and moved with the grace of an expert martial artist.

Ranma took one look at her and was impressed. 'Wow, maybe I can convince her to a friendly spar later. I know Pops says sparring against girls is stupid and pointless, but the guide says the women here are tough. I'd like to see for myself how good they are.'

When Ranma took a look at the other contestant, her stomach churned. 'What is that? Is that a man pretending to be a woman, or a woman pretending to be a man?' The person in question was rather large and masculine but wore feminine clothes and hairstyle so it was a confusing site.

Genma saw both but didn't have high opinions of either fighters. 'Looks like they know what they're doing, but Ranma could beat them both any day even in his girl body.' Then his eyes caught something much more interesting. 'Hey, food!'

Ranma heard her tiger-cow father eating something and got upset. "Hey Pops, you keeping food for yourself again?" Genma handed her an orange. "Thanks, I'm still starving from chasing you around so much yesterday." While this happened the purple-haired fighter managed to send her opponent off the log and towards the sky with a corkscrew hit from her bonbori.

"Sirs, bad idea you do that." The guide said once he noticed what they were doing.

Neither Saotome heeded his words, but a crushing blow from a bonbori on the table certainly got their attention. Ranma and Genma looked in horror at the purple-haired Amazon, who looked pissed and held herself and her weapons in a threatening stance while speaking Mandarin.

"You there, what you doing? This annual festival for Amazon warriors, I now champion you steal my prize." The guide translated.

Ranma regained her nerve first. "So... if I defeat you, then I can claim this and there's no problem. Right?" The guide translated this into Mandarin, and the Amazon teen nodded. "Great. I was hoping to get this chance. I'm Ranma by the way."

The guide translated this again, and the Amazon replied. "Xian pu."

"Shampoo?" Ranma asked, not sure she heard right. The Amazon nodded, not hearing much of a difference from what she said. "Okay then. Let's do this."

Both got on the log and took their stances. Naturally those watching started talking about who they thought would win, and most were backing Shampoo. Some did feel this would be tough for her since she had just been in several fights around and was bound to be worn out a bit while the new green-haired girl was starting fresh.

Shampoo tried to end it quickly with a single strike to the upper body. She wasn't too fatigued just yet but knew the longer this fight lasted the less stamina she'd have for it. Ranma managed to dodge the attack and attempted a similar attack only to have it blocked. The Japanese martial artist realized this fight against the Chinese one would be tough since their balance was thrown off by the new body shape and size. In fact only the quick adaptability taught by Anything Goes along with the hovering ability of the oni form allowed her to remain on the log at all.

'I better finish this before they catch me flying and disqualify me.' Ranma thought, her pride not wanting to risk a loss. When Shampoo tried to sweep-kick the green-haired girl off the log, Ranma jumped and tagged her in the forehead making it look like a regular strike. Upon contact she released a small amount of electricity, catching Shampoo off guard and making her fumble. Seeing her lose her sure footing, Ranma made a real kick which sent the Amazon flying away. she hit the armor to minimize any actual damage, since she still didn't like fighting girls.

Genma watched this with a grin while the crowd and Jusenkyo guide watched in horror. Shampoo felt as if her heart skipped a beat for a moment and Ranma just jumped off the log. "Looks like I can eat now."

Shampoo, disheveled and with a clear upset look on her face, came up to Ranma before she could reapproach the banquet. Ranma was confused, wondering if she wanted a rematch or was about to say something nasty. The last thing she expected was for the purple-haired girl to give her a small passionless kiss on her left cheek, then leave with a warning look in her eyes.

-Flashback End-

Before Ranma could continue, Akane grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled his face closer to hers, giving him a close look at her angry eyes. "What? Weren't you a girl at the time?" It was hard to tell just what made her so upset just then.

"I'm not done yet." Ranma defensively told her. "This is where it gets bad."

-Flashback-

The Jusenkyo guide had grabbed Ranma's hand and was quickly leading her out of Joketsuzoku territory. "Quickly Mr. Customer, you must leave now!"

"What gives?"

"Amazon just give you Kiss of Death!"

"What?"

"Amazons very proud people. Losing to outsider greater dishonor than death. As revenge they give you Kiss of Death. It promise to chase you to ends of earth and kill you. We must get you far away from here."

"I can't leave. I need to find a cure for my curse."

"Save life now. Handle curse later." The guide said as Genma finally caught up to them. He stayed behind to take a little more food for the road.

-Flashback End-

Ranma sighed and relaxed once Akane let him go. "And when they say 'to ends of earth' they really mean it. That girl kept chasing after me all throughout China. She's the reason I had to leave it in the first place. I can't believe she actually came here to Japan."

Akane just looked at him with an uncertain look. "So... she wants to kill you... because she lost to you?"

"Pretty much. Sounds like Ryoga doesn't it?"

"Mr. 'Ranma prepare to die'? Yeah, you're right." Akane commented. "So where is she now?"

"I managed to lose her after I ducked behind a building and rushed towards the sky. By now she already knows I can fly and make lightning as a girl so don't worry about that. I stayed in the air for awhile and flew in several directions to confuse her if she did see me up there. So now she'll have a better chance finding Ryoga than me."

"Ranma it looks like you have a guest." Kasumi called out to him.

Ranma and Akane shared a frightened look. "Please tell me it's not who I think it is." Akane said.

"It can't be her, can it?" He asked as he slowly rose to check it out. Akane followed.

In the hallway Kasumi greeted the two. "It appears your father ran into an acquaintance of yours and she wants to see you."

Genma, in tiger-cow form and looking nervous, held up a sign. 'She followed me here.' Behind him stood Shampoo, looking like she was looking for something.

'Crap, I'll never be able to hide from her now.' Ranma thought. 'Wait, she doesn't know my male form. She never saw it before. Maybe I can trick her.'

"Hello." He said as he came into her line of sight.

"Hello." She said just to be polite, then looked around a little more.

"Kasumi, having her here isn't a good idea." Akane whispered to her sister. "She came all the way from China to kill Ranma."

"Oh my." Kasumi said. "But then, why isn't she doing it now?"

Shampoo pulled her bonbori from out of nowhere. "Where Ranma? Where you hiding her?"

'Her? Oh yeah, she wants Ranma's girl form. She must not know they're the same person, like Kuno.' Akane realized.

"Please no fighting in the house." Kasumi told their visitor.

"You hide Ranma. Give Shampoo Ranma or die too!" Shampoo shouted as she tried to approach the Tendo sisters with an enraged expression. Ranma instinctively defended them by kicking her weapon, breaking it and sending the blunt part towards the ceiling. Shampoo tried to retaliate with her other one, but the broken part fell on her head with a loud impact. Her eyes widened upon contact, then closed as she collapsed on the floor.

Everyone present looked at this in shock, and for Ranma a mild amount of horror too. 'Oh crap. Now shes' going to be after my guy form too.'

Akane slowly got next to him. "Ranma, is she going to now...?" She found herself unable to finish her question.

"I sure hope not."

"What's wrong?" Nabiki asked once she walked in. She quickly noticed the girl on the floor. "What did I miss?"

"This girl wants to kill Ranma's girl form because 'she' beat her back in China. And now Ranma's male form did too."

"Oh my. That's quite a problem." Kasumi stated.

Shampoo started to regain consciousness, and looked at Ranma. He couldn't read her expression, but got defensive. "What do you want now?"

Moving too quickly for him to react, Shampoo wrapped him in a bearhug and pressed her lips to his. "Wo ai ni Airen."

Akane watched this with wide eyes and Ranma experienced this the same way. Akane however soon gained a familiar angry look at this. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

"Akane, this isn't my idea." Ranma defended as soon as he freed his mouth, frightened by her sudden rage.

"I was talking to her!" Akane told him. "Why were you kissing him?" Shampoo pulled out a book with Chinese kanji on the cover and opened it before handing it to the Japanese girl. "And how am I supposed to read a Chinese book?"

Nabiki took it. "According to the laws of Joketsuzoku, an Amazon warrior has two customs to follow in the event of defeat at the hands of an outsider. If the opponent was a woman, the Amazon must give her the Kiss of Death, which is a solemn vow to pursue revenge and kill her no matter how long it may take. If the opponent was a man however, the Amazon must give him the Kiss of Marriage, which is for all basic purposes a binding method to make him her husband."

"WHAT?" Ranma and Akane asked rather loudly. "Tell me you're joking!" Ranma said.

"Am I the joking type?" Nabiki replied.

"And am I supposed to believe you can really read Chinese?" Ranma added.

"Of course I can't." Nabiki answered, then showed them the page she read from. "But there's a Japanese translation right here."

Kasumi looked it over. "So there is."

Akane glared at Shampoo, who was still clinging to Ranma. "I don't care what kind of rules you have. There's no way you're going anywhere with Ranma!"

Genma smiled. 'It looks like she's getting attached to the boy. I better get Tendo so we can bring the engagement up again for them both.'

Shampoo looked undaunted by the claim, but she did at least get the message. She let go of Ranma and looked the short-haired tomboy right in the eyes with a calm look to her own. "Who you?"

Akane was briefly surprised by that. "None of your business!"

"You obstacle?"

Akane just kept glaring. "When it comes to you trying to trap Ranma like this then yes."

Shampoo grabbed her still intact bonbori. "Obstacles is for killing."

Shampoo tried to hit her hard in the gut to end it quickly. Akane tried to defend herself by breaking the weapon like Ranma did but with her fists. She cracked the end, but the weapon remained functional and hit her in the stomach, sending her into the wall.

Before the Amazon could continue, Ranma grabbed her shoulders. "Stop that."

"She obstacle. Must be removed."

"I don't care." Ranma firmly told her. "What you're doing is pure stone age."

"Is law."

"Is entrapment." Nabiki said, mimicking the Chinese girl's speech pattern just then.

Both Ranma and Akane were now wondering how to get rid of the Amazon. Neither could come up with an answer.


	13. Bie Liao

Akane was walking down the hallway the next morning with a robe over her shoulders since it was cold that morning and all she wore then were her yellow pajamas.

Meanwhile, in another room in the Tendo house, two people and a tiger-cow were resting comfortably warm, although one of the two was unaware the other was even in the same building let alone the same room.

**Ch. 13 Bie Liao**

"Hey Ranma, time to... get... up?" Akane said as she opened the door to his and Genma's room. She immediately saw her fiancee sleeping peacefully with Shampoo resting next to him, snuggling up close and comfortably with his chest serving as a pillow, looking quite content. Akane's face quickly looked like she was trying to glare predatory and comprehend this site at the same time.

'What the hell? Did he just...? Wait a minute, Ranma said this girl has spent the last few months trying to kill him. So why would he invite her into his bed like this? I bet she invited herself after he was already asleep.' Akane thought, surprising herself since she was so close to assuming Ranma had been a pervert with another girl. Had she been anything less than a friend of his she probably would have done just that. 'So, she didn't take a hint yesterday huh? After we told her to leave before she'd be arrested for trespassing and threatening to kill? Guess we're going to need something a bit more drastic this time.'

"Koiishi." Shampoo said, much to Akane's irritation.

Akane then went to the furo and filled one of the buckets with water. She took it back to Ranma's room and doused the sleeping pair with the water. Shampoo and Ranma jolted awake from the shock, but Shampoo was more surprised to see Oni-Ranma rather than the young man she thought she crawled in bed next to.

"Ranma! I kill!"

Ranma, without realizing it, zapped the Amazon with a good amount of electricity, who didn't have enough time to prepare and dodge the attack. She collapsed in a smoking heap, but she looked like she's survive.

"What the...? How did...? When did she...?" Ranma asked herself.

"That's what I was wondering myself." Akane added.

Ranma then noticed the short-haired girl there with a bucket in her hands. "I didn't do anything! I swear-tcha!"

"I believe you Ranma. I'm upset at her, not you."

"Then why did ya wake me up like that?" Ranma asked.

"Would you rather she see you as a man first and maybe try to rape you? I figured this way at least you could shock her." Akane answered.

Ranma got up. "Thanks, even though I gotta dry out the futon today-tcha." She then looked down at her fold-up mattress and the twitching Amazon. "Let's go downstairs. I need some hot water before she recovers-tcha."

Akane gave him a suspicious look as they headed downstairs. "Why? You don't want her clinging to you boy side again do you?"

Ranma shook her head. "Of course not. But if I stay like this, she's just going to get more violent and I'm going to have to fly away or electrocute her again-tcha. If we fight the house could get badly damaged and so could she. And even though she tried to kill me, I'd rather not return that favor." They got to the bottom of the stairs and Ranma shivered. "And I don't want to go flying now-tcha."

"Why not?" Akane asked. "It's fun."

Ranma gave her a deadpan look. "You know how cold the air gets the higher you get? Add that into the fact it's winter and I'm wearing this." She then pointed out her tiger bikini.

Akane got started on warming some water when they both got into the kitchen. "I didn't think of that. How do you stay warm in that anyway?"

"Sometimes I have to use my electricity if it's not warm enough around me. Makes me wonder just what the oni who drowned was thinking wearing this-tcha." Ranma said as she used a small amount of voltage to warm her body a bit.

Akane then handed her some water. "I hope this is warm enough."

Ranma took it and poured it over the top of her head. Immediately she returned to a he. "That's better."

Akane blushed and pointed at him. "You umm... might want to go put on some real clothes now."

Ranma looked down and saw he was wearing a black tank top and red boxers now, just like when he went to sleep. And apparently like most men in the morning, he had a case of morning wood right then. "I'm sorry Akane. I'll go see if i can without Shampoo noticing me." He then walked away.

Akane just stood there watching him leave, blush still practically painted on her face. 'Was that... it's full size? Damn that looks... wait, what the heck am I thinking that way for? Think about something else.' Nothing came to mind. 'ANYTHING else dammit!'

Despite her anti-pervert beliefs, Akane Tendo was still a teenager.

* * *

Breakfast came and everyone in the Tendo household was eating. Ranma had another spar with Genma after getting dressed and Shampoo was still relatively unconscious. Ranma and Aakne were seated next to each other and were trying their hardest to forget the earlier embarrassing moment. Akane more so than Ranma since it was harder for her to forget the image.

'Yeah, hard, like-NO NO!' The tomboy yelled in her head.

Nabiki got up. "Thanks for breakfast Kasumi. I'm heading for school now."

"Okay, have a good day." The eldest Tendo daughter told the middle one.

"We should probably get going too soon." Akane said.

"You sure Akane? You're awfully red. Do you have a fever?" Kasumi asked.

Akane broke her chopsticks. "N-n-n-no, I'm f-fine. Just fine."

"You sure?" Kasumi asked again.

"Yes." Akane squeaked.

Kasumi and Soun decided to just shrug it off and leave it at that. Genma ignored the whole ordeal and kept eating, and Ranma knew better than to call attention to it. He did make sure to keep his transformed father from stealing his own breakfast as always.

* * *

The school day went normally for Ranma and Akane and both paid extra attention to their lessons to take their mind off of that morning. It soon worked, and later lunchtime came. The two silently agreed to eat apart this time to avoid further embarrassment. Once Ranma got outside he saw he had a visitor.

"Nihao Airen." Shampoo called out. This time she was wearing a purple silk dress with hundreds of small black dots covering it. This also showed off her legs so much if any more were visible her panties would be too.

"Shampoo?" Ranma asked. "How did you...? Never mind, just go."

"Who's that?" Sayuri asked Akane, as both girls watched from nearby.

"Some Chinese girl who's trying to butt into Ranma's life." Akane said irritably.

Sayuri looked surprised t that bit of info, and even more so at Akane's annoyance evident in her voice. "Are you jealous?"

"I'd say I'm more peeved than jealous. Trust me, this girl isn't the type Ranma would go for."

"I don't know Akane. I mean, she does have a good figure and she's not trying to hide it with those silk clothes." Sayuri pointed out. Akane just ignored it with a low growl and kept watching.

"Wife made lunch." Shampoo cheerfully said as she offered him a tray of tonkatsu. "Want go on date and eat in private place?"

"I can't. I'm at school." Ranma answered.

"So after school Airen take Shampoo out?"

Ranma was at a lost for words even though he knew what he wanted to say. "I... uhh... I can't. I've already got a date." He then got next to Akane. "Sorry, but I'm taken."

Shampoo just glared at Akane and, rather than say anything, just kissed Akane on the cheek. This made everyone watching have dish-sized eyes, and a few hopeful dirty thoughts went thru the minds of the boys.

Akane recognized the Kiss of Death threat thanks to yesterday's lessons. "Fine. You wanna fight, you got it." She rolled up her uniform's sleeves and showed off her fists.

"Akane..." Ranma started. He wanted to say 'Don't do this', but he could tell she wouldn't listen and he knew from experience that Shampoo would not stop now. When she looked at him, he changed his dialogue. "Be careful."

"Thanks Ranma, but I'll do fine. I'm a martial artist too after all."

Akane and Shampoo stood firmly before each other for a moment more before Shampoo jumped over her and landed on the wall around the school grounds, the part that separated the field from the parking lot. She then gave the Tendo girl a challenging smirk then disappeared over it. Akane followed after her to the other side of the wall.

The others outside stayed back to avoid getting involved. Ranma stayed back only for a moment to avoid offending Akane, but after a minute he couldn't resist anymore and went to go check on the fight. The fact that he had heard absolutely nothing so far made him more concerned about what was going on. Akane wasn't exactly a quiet fighter.

When he got there, he saw Shampoo was gone and Akane was lying down on the pavement face down. "Akane?" He asked fearfully, fearing the worst. He turned her over and saw she was breathing and unhurt. Oddly her hair had some extra gloss to it, but he barely paid attention to that detail. "Akane?"

She slowly opened her eyes, and then shrieked and slapped him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She yelled as she got out of his grasp and away from him.

"Akane? What's come over you?" Ranma asked as he tried to get closer to her.

Akane pulled out a mallet. "Get away from me!" She tried to crush him but she missed.

"Now the other Furinkan students decided to see what was happening. "Akane, did anything happen?" Sayuri asked.

"No, that Shampoo girl just left." Akane told her friend. "But for some reason I feel... strangely refreshed."

"That's it?" Ranma asked.

"Just who are you and why are you acting this way?" Akane demanded. "You're just another pervert aren't you?"

'She's forgotten all about me?' Ranma asked himself. 'Just what did Shampoo do to her?'

"If she comes back I'll be ready for her." Akane said. Before she could say more, Ranma wrapped his right arm around her waist and jumped onto the roof of a neighboring building. "HEY! LET GO OF ME!" She screamed in terror.

Ranma ignored her and quickly reached Tofu's clinic. He put her down much to her relief. "Listen Akane, you need to see the doc. Now."

Tofu came outside when he heard a girl yelling. "Oh wow, Ranma, Akane. What brings you here now. Shouldn't you be in school?"

"Doc, you better have a look at Akane." Ranma told him.

Tofu turned towards the youngest Tendo. "Are you hurt Akane?"

"No, no thanks to this strange guy. What kind of maniac jumps from roof to roof like that?" Akane responded.

Tofu looked curious and held his left hand to his chin. "Tell me what recently happened to you Akane."

"I went to school, this girl showed up and challenged me to a fight, and when we did she just disappeared. And then this pervert shows up." Akane described and ended with a sharp point with her thumb at Ranma.

"Hey, I'm not a pervert."

Tofu thought it over. "Ranma, did you see any of this?"

"Sorry Doc, I didn't get there in time. It was over in just a few seconds anyway."

'I saw it.' Genma's sign said as he, in tiger-cow form, entered the building carrying a basket of supplies for the clinic.

"You did?" Ranma asked.

Genma flipped his sign around. 'The whole shebang.' He then grabbed a new sign and a pen. 'Even now as I-'

"Just change back already." Ranma said impatiently with a kick to the tiger-cow.

Tofu gave his assistant a kettle, letting him become human again. Genma cleared his throat before speaking. "Even now as I recall the site, I can only gasp in disbelief." He sat down and crossed his arms. "I was passing by Ranma's and Akane's school to return here from my errand, but I saw Akane about to fight a girl so naturally I watched to ensure litle harm came to her. Imagine my surprise when her opponent washed her hair rather than actually fight her."

Ranma blinked, unable to comprehend what he had just been told. "Did you say... wash her hair?"

Genma nodded. "Yes. Moving with speed befitting any good martial artist, Akane's challenger shampooed, scrubbed, washed with a handy bucket, and blow-dried Akane's hair in a matter of fifty-six seconds."

"No wonder I felt so refreshed." Akane said in awe.

"And that somehow made her forget me?" Ranma asked.

Tofu thought it over. "I think I've heard of such a technique. It's an old Chinese shiatsu tactic called Xi Fa Xiang Gao. The technique combines the use of a scented Chinese herbal shampoo and the pressure points on the skull in combination to manipulate memory. The only cure for it is another type of shampoo meant to counter the original one. I'll have to check my notes on Chinese methods to be certain though."

"I think I'll go check the source directly." Ranma said as he went to the sink and used some water to change into his oni form.

Akane watched this and gasped. "R-Ranma, why were you... a boy just then?"

Everyone looked at her, surprised. "Now you remember me?" Ranma asked.

"Of course. You've been staying at my place for a while now. Why wouldn't I remember you?" Akane replied.

"I get it." Genma said, slamming his fist into his palm. "That girl doesn't know boy-Ranma and girl-Ranma are the same person. So she'd have no reason to erase girl-Ranma from Akane's memory."

Akane looked between the two Saotomes for a bit. "You turn into a boy Ranma? Since when?"

"That's it. I'm getting that shampoo right now." Ranma said before darting outside and into the air.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Akane shouted as she went outside to follow.

The back door to the clinic opened and Shampoo entered. "I home."

Genma sweated and accidentally spilled his own drink on himself, turning back into a tiger-cow. Tofu turned to him. "Ah, Mr. Saotome, meet my new apprentice nurse. She's going to be staying here a while."

'Small world, isn't it?' Genma's sign said.

* * *

Ranma searched for the rest of the afternoon, but saw no sign of Shampoo. She ended up giving Akane another flight to make things more convenient for them both, much to her pleasure. After the sun set and things got too cold for the barely dressed oni girl, they decided to call it quits for now.

Nabiki greeted them rather than Kasumi. "Hi sis. Why did you and Ranma ditch school so early."

"She lost her memory of my male side thanks to that Amazon from yesterday." Ranma explained.

"Her? Well FYI your father brought her here not too long ago. They're in the dining room now waiting for you." Nabiki added.

Akane headed into the aforementioned room and saw Shampoo resting comfortably at the table and sipping on some tea. Her outfit was similar in style to the one she wore at lunchtime but now was a red color with teal blue splash-like patterns on it in places. Ranma however went into the kitchen to become male, partly to warm up and partly because Shampoo was more likely to listen to male-Ranma.

Ranma came into view and stood sternly with his fists at his sides. "Alright Shampoo, give Akane her memory back."

"Airen!" The Amazon said happily as she got up to glomp him. She succeeded, but once she did Akane came up behind her and hit her with a mallet, knocking her off and onto the floor.

Akane was quite surprised at her actions. 'How weird. What came over me? I saw that girl hug this strange boy... and I was furious.'

Shampoo got up and looked over Akane, thinking in her native Mandarin as she did so. 'I must not have erased all the memory she has of him if she reacted that way. She's tougher than I thought.' She then pulled out a shampoo bottle and a comb. "Again Xi Fa Xiang Gao."

Ranma grabbed her wrist before she could do anything and took the bottle away. "Aha! Got it." He then grabbed Akane's wrist and let Shampoo go before dragging the Tendo girl away to the nearest sink. He forced her head into the sink and under the faucet, attempting to mimic the technique.

"That hurt!" Akane said as she got away and slammed him into the floor.

Tofu appeared before the two teens. "That's not the shampoo you need Ranma. Look at the number on the label." Ranma saw it had the number 411 on it. "To bring back her memory, you need Number 911."

"Where do I get it?" Ranma asked.

Tofu pulled out a book with Chinese Medical Tonics. "Don't worry, I have the list on how to make a batch."

"Oh Dr. Tofu. You mean you can cure Akane?" Kasumi happily asked.

Tofu, who had failed to notice the oldest Tendo daughter up until now, began to get nervous. "K-K-K-Kasumi? What brings you here?"

"Well, this is my house." Kasumi said as Tofu nervously crumpled up and ripped up the book without realizing it.

"Doc! The book!" Ranma shouted, but it was too late. 'Great, now I'll have to go to China to get some.' Fortunately for Ranma, Shampoo stepped up and held for all to see a bottle of 911 shampoo. "Hey! Gimme that!" He tried to take it, but the purple-haired girl kept it out of his reach.

He tried again and this time got closer. So Shampoo unbuttoned her dress a bit and put the bottle between her breasts before re-buttoning it. "Come and get it." She even thrust her chest out as if to dare him.

What she didn't count on was Akane attacking her from behind with her mallet. When Shampoo was dazed Akane got the bottle out so Ranma wouldn't have to and handed it to Tofu. The doctor quickly went to work counteracting Shampoo's memory manipulation with the shampoo, after Kasumi left the room.

Shampoo quickly recovered and saw Akane stand above her. "Too bad. I got my memory back now."

Shampoo frowned and got up to her feet. "Too bad. If you no remember, you no have to die." She then rushed forward with her index and middle fingers out of her right hand, ready for another shiatsu attack.

"Shampoo stop!" Ranma said as he got between the two girls.

"Why Airen protect obstacle?" Shampoo asked.

'Just how do I get rid of her.' The pigtailed young man asked himself, then saw a bucket for the mop. He sighed. "I guess there's no other way." He grabbed it and dumped it on himself.

Shampoo was stunned by the change. "Female Ranma?"

"What will you do Shampoo?" Ranma asked. "You can't kill me and marry me at the same time-tcha."

The Chinese girl looked like she didn't know what to do, and looked down as her body shook. When she looked back up, Ranma saw she was crying and looked utterly heartbroken. She then turned around and walked off.

"Bie liao."

No one knew what she meant until Nabiki grabbed a Chinese-Japanese translation book. "According to this, it means 'We'll never met again.'"

The next day, Shampoo wasn't seen anywhere in Nerima.


	14. Ranma's Phobia

Later on at Furinkan High during a bit of an unseasonable heat wave, Ranma and Akane were in gym class getting some exercise.

Ranma was outside with the boys playing some baseball while Akane was inside with the girls practicing gymnastics techniques, unaware one of the boys was getting a good look at her in the meantime.

**Ch. 14 Ranma's Phobia**

Said boy was none other than Hikaru Gosunkugi, the shadowy-eyed student who blended into the background better than a rock to most. Only an expert martial artist could detect his barely noticeable ki, and anyone good enough to do so had little reason to in the first place so he was usually never noticed unless he wanted to be. And right now he didn't.

"My dear Akane." Gosunkugi whispered to himself as he crouched by a window into the gymnasium with a camera taking pictures. "I was content to just watch you and worship you from afar, I truly was, until..." He paused for dramatic effect despite the lack of audience. "... that fool Saotome, that fool Saotome." His voice got a bit louder and for some reason he chose to repeat his insult rather than finish his thought. "That Fool Saotome!"

"You talkin' about me?" Ranma asked as he hung from a tree above his classmate.

Gosunkugi gasped and scooted backwards a bit. "Ah, Saotome, you surprised me."

"I can tell." Ranma said plainly then narrowed his eyes. "You better not be spying on the girls."

One of the windows opened and an irritated Akane popped her head outside. "Ranma? Were you being a Peeping Tom?" She looked and sounded like she was surprised and offended just then.

"No, but he was." Ranma calmly answered while pointing at Gosunkugi.

Akane glared at the voodoo-user like she was willing him to spontaneously combust, making him nervous and try to vanish into the shadows. It didn't work, for Akane pulled out her trusty pervert-smasher and sent him flying.

"Going... going... gone." Ranma said with his hand up to keep the sun out of his eyes.

"And what were you doing here Ranma?" Akane asked with much less irritation.

"I heard a camera going off. What was I supposed to do?"

"RANMA!" Kuno shouted as he came into view with a bokken. "What's this I see you doing near the girl's area? Are you trying to sate your devious lusts with voyeurism?"

"Why don't you tell me what you're doing over here first Kuno?" Ranma calmly asked.

Kuno chose to ignore the question and pulled out his bokken. "DIE MISTREATER OF WOMEN!"

Ranma kicked his and sent him flying away like Akane did to Gosunkugi earlier. "Like you're any better." He said to himself, but Akane nodded in agreement.

In the not-too-far distance Kuno crashed, laid still for a moment, got up on his elbows, and brushed himself off. "Damn you Saotome. If only I knew your weakness then you would surely fall before me in no time."

"Want some help with that." Gosunkugi asked from behind while crouched down, startling the crazy kendoist.

"Who are you?"

"Hikaru Gosunkugi. You wouldn't know me, few people do. But I can find out Ranma's weakness for you if you'd be willing to fight him in a way I never could. I bet you could catch him off guard and finish him off quickly if you knew his weakness."

Kuno grimaced and got on his feet. "What do you take me for? There's no honor in striking an opponent's Achilles Heel in secrecy, even if the opponent himself is without honor."

Gosunkugi stood erect and sighed. "I see." He tried to walk away, but Kuno grabbed his collar from behind.

"I didn't say 'no' you fool."

The voodoo user was naturally confused. "But I thought-"

"If I were to face him in a legitimate match, then that's completely fair." Kuno replied. "Now, if you can intend find what will make Saotome fall, do so within a week's time. If your findings prove effective, you shall be well rewarded for your aide."

Gosunkugi nodded. 'How hard could it be? People barely notice me when I'm _not_ trying to hide. I'm even more invisible when I want to be.'

* * *

A week went by and Gosunkugi was approached by Kuno during a long break between classes. "So what have you found on the vile cur?" He took no notice of the covered box at the shadowy-eyed boy's feet.

"Not much. I didn't see any physical flaws or inconsistencies in his movements. I was able to get some photos of him in secret that may give you a clue if you can see any."

Kuno took the photos, each with Ranma in various locations and doing various activities. The one common element besides Ranma's presence was that he was giving the V sign with his fingers. "You fool. He's posing in all these. He knew of your presence. You are useless."

"Not necessarily. I did have one more trick up my sleeve."

Before Kuno could ask, he felt a sudden amount of weight plant itself on top his head, making him fall forward. "So what's the big deal?" Ranma casually asked from his uncouth perch.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kuno asked. His answer came in the form of a challenge letter, which read: 'Ranma, meet me atop Kuno's head in the gym after school.'

"I was kinda hoping you'd tell me that." Ranma replied, making no effort to actually move off the kendoist's skull.

Without warning, Gosunkugi grabbed the box, removed it's cover, and flinged it at Ranma without releasing it. Out came several snakes, lizards, frogs, and various bugs.

Ranma, unfazed, stepped off of Kuno's scalp, who meanwhile froze up a bit. "What's the big idea?" He asked Gosunkugi.

Gosunkugi was a horrible actor, so he couldn't think up a lie to cover his actions. Not that he just blurted out the honest truth either. "I was just... testing your reaction to a few things people find creepy."

Ranma just shrugged nonchalantly. "Not bothered. Sorry ta disappoint."

"How can you claim to not be bothered? When even I find these things repulsive?" Kuno asked, his arms full of the animals he happened to inadvertently catch.

"Then why are you holding them?" Ranma asked, but didn't stick around to hear the answer. "Later." He called out as he left the room.

Kuno drooped the vermin and glared at the voodoo enthusiast. "What were you thinking just then?"

"Well, since I didn't see anything physically wrong with him, I thought you could exploit his fears. Once you found out what he was afraid of."

"It appears that you have failed." Kuno stated.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Ranma's voice could be heard, screaming in total fear from a not-too-far distance, making Kuno, Gosunkugi, and many students within hearing range curious. "Perhaps I spoke too soon. Let's make haste."

He and Gosunkugi ran outside, and only then did Gosunkugi remember the placement for the pit he dug to test a possible fear of falling in Ranma.

* * *

Akane came up to where she heard Ranma shout out in terror. 'What was that? He sounded like someone was trying to kill him.' When she and several other students got there, they saw Ranma on his back, twitching like he had been lightly electrocuted and gazing towards the sky catatonically. But they saw nothing to explain why.

Akane knelt down beside him. "Ranma? Are you alright? Can you hear me? Ranma!"

"Is he hurt?" A classmate asked.

"I don't think so, but he's not responding." Akane replied.

"Dump some water on him. That might snap him out of the shock." Akane's friend Yuka suggested, ignorant of the curse at this point like all of Furinkan.

"Yeah, good idea." Another girl added.

"No! Bad idea!" Akane yelled. "I'll take him to the nurse's office instead." She then grabbed under the young Saotome's arms and dragged his unresisting body to the nurse's office, leaving everyone to wonder what happened and why.

* * *

"Ranma, why did you scream earlier?" Akane asked for the umpteenth time. School was over now and the two were back home, currently in the dojo. Akane couldn't stay with Ranma and wait for him to recover since class started up. Part of her wanted to wait for him to regain consciousness while the rest of her was glad to not add to Furinkan's rumor network of her waiting like a loved one would.

"It's nothin' Akane." Ranma answered again as he did his kata.

"No one screams over nothing Ranma. What happened?"

"I can't tell you." He told her.

The Tendo girl frowned. "Why? Don't you trust me?"

"It's not that." He said as he thrust his fist down, breaking the wooden floor and startling Akane. After the shock faded she saw Gosunkugi was hiding under the floor in the crawlspace with a camera and tape recorder with a microphone.

"Uh... hi?" He meekly said, hoping to avoid trouble.

"Y'see?" Ranma asked Akane as he pointed to the intruder.

Akane slowly nodded in understanding, then glared at the shadowy-eyed boy. "And what are you doing here?"

'Akane's talking to me.' Gosunkugi happily thought, ignoring the fact she wasn't the least bit happy herself. "I... um... just dropped by to say hi."

"Sure." Ranma said in complete disbelief. "You were spying on me, weren't you? Or was it Akane you were hoping to spy on?"

Sensing the dangerous aura of anger emitting off of the youngest Tendo, Gosunkugi only wanted to scram. But before he did, he reached up and pulled one of Ranma's hairs right out of his scalp then bolted... right to a tree in the yard where he tied Ranma's hair to a straw voodoo doll and hit it with a spike and hammer repeatedly. "Curse you Saotome. Curse you Saotome."

"You wanna get rid of this guy or should I?" Ranma asked Akane.

"Allow me." She said as she flexed her fist. Next thing Gosunkugi knew, he was flying thru LEO.

"Ranma." Genma called to his son as he came into view from the hallway. "It looks like you need more training."

"What's all this about?" He asked.

"I heard about it. How you screamed at school and were found unconscious." The fat, bald martial artist stated before he did a flying kick at Ranma, who dodged with a high jump. "I didn't raise you to be so fragile."

"It's your fault I'm like that and you know it!" The pigtailed gender-bender replied angrily.

"Like what?" Akane asked.

"Don't talk back to your father like that!" Genma yelled at the same time she asked, making it difficult for anyone to answer her.

'Did Mr. Saotome do something to Ranma?' Akane asked herself. Seeing them spar, she knew it would be some time before she could actually ask them anything, she left the dojo.

"Hanachiyo! Hanachiyo!" Kasumi called out at the front of the house.

Nabiki, who was helping out her older sister, saw her younger on the way over. "Oh Akane, help us find Hanachiyo."

"Hanachiyo?" Akane asked.

"I'm looking after her for a friend." Kasumi answered. This had happened before so Akane quickly remembered the name. "I took my eyes off her for a moment and she disappeared."

"Ok, I'll check upstairs." Akane said before turning around.

In the backyard, Ranma had a towel around his bare shoulders and a kettle at his feet. During his spar with his father he got knocked into the koi pond and transformed, then used some electricity to knock Genma out for a bit to end the match. Now he returned to normal but didn't feel much better. 'That stupid Gosunkugi, trying to find out my weakness. I gotta be careful. If anyone knew what got to me...' He then pictured all of the Tendo family laughing at him mockingly. '...they'd laugh until they choke.'

The sound of rustling in the bushes caught his attention before he could think any further. 'Did Gosunkugi come back? That was quick.' Annoyed, Ranma reached in to grab the perceived eavesdropper. "Hey! Give it a rest alread-!" He stopped, got rigid for a second, then reacted the only way he could. "GYAAAAAAAH!"

"Ranma?" Akane asked as she darted downstairs to where she heard the shout. Kasumi and Nabiki quickly followed. When they got to the backyard, they saw Ranma lying catatonic on the ground again, but this time there was a white cat with orange and black spots resting calmly on his bare torso.

"Hanachiyo?" Kasumi said, confused, as she picked the cat up.

"Ranma?" Akane asked as she knelt down beside his lightly twitching self. "What happened?"

Nabiki just stood aside to watch and figure this out. 'Hmm... I wonder...'

Genma recovered from his shock and grabbed a bucket. He came up to his son and poured the contents right in his face. Ranma turned back into his green-haired bikini-clad oni form, only this time she was topless since Ranma was shirtless at the time of transformation. Fortunately only girls were around him, not counting Genma and the now approaching Soun, and the towel around his shoulders covered the bare breasts enough to obscure them a bit. "Coward. And you call yourself a man?" Genma said to put down his child.

"Shut up! This is all your fault-tcha!" Ranma said as she readied some more voltage.

Genma grabbed the cat out of Kasumi's arms and held it out towards Ranma, who instantly defused and flew to the top of the house with a quick shriek.

"Ranma... has a cat phobia?" Akane asked.

"Sadly yes." Genma answered. "It happened when he was 10 years old. I decided to train him in the Cat Fist."

"Cat Fist?" Akane and Nabiki asked together.

Genma sat down to make himself comfortable, knowing this might take a while. "It's said to be one of the most powerful martial art tricks ever created. The user is unbeatable when the power of the Cat Fist is envoked. Weapons are useless against them and even the most savage of animals become terrified of the one with it's power. Naturally, I felt it was perfect for Ranma to learn. Getting set up to learn it is the easy part. However, the actual process of learning was the tricky part."

"So what happened?" Kasumi asked.

Soun listened on thoughtfully. 'Hmm... maybe I should learn how to teach this technique for future students.'

"First, you take some food that cats find utterly irresistible. I used fish sausages for the first time. I gather enough of them to wrap them around Ranma yet leave his movements unhindered. Then, as the book instructed, I threw him in a pit filled with dozens of hungry cats."

"WHAT?" All three Tendo girls shouted in horror and to various degrees anger as they imagined a young Ranma being clawed at by a horde of hungry cats.

Soun just looked apaulled. 'On second thought, forget that idea completely. No good can come from it.'

"What the hell were you thinking? That's possibly the most monstrous thing I've ever heard!" Akane shouted, so ready to mallet this man into higher earth orbit rather than lower.

Genma pulled out a small book labeled Advanced Combat. "This is the manual that led me to do it."

"And you just happened to have it on you right now?" Nabiki asked, finding it rather unlikely.

"With the likelihood of running across a stray alleycat here I knew there would come a day when you'd have to be told this story. We didn't tell you right away as it's not something I'm proud of and Ranma would prefer to forget the whole ordeal." Genma replied as he handed Soun the book after opening it to the section on the Cat Fist. "Anyway, the book has the explanation on what the Cat Fist is and how to get it imprinted in the student's mind and body. But... it comes with a price."

Soun looked at the pages, with Nabiki reading over his shoulders. They saw written down the explanation of the Cat Fist and how to learn it, which all fit what Genma had told them. "What price is it?" Soun asked.

"Isn't it obvious Dad? A fear of cats. Ailurophobia, I believe is the name." Nabiki commented.

"Not just that. Turn the page." Genma told them.

Soun did so and read aloud the first part he saw. "While powerful if acquired, the Cat Fist has shown it can only result in unstable minds on the user. Ultimately, it has been declared as a technique that would only attempted by a complete idiot. Anyone trying to teach their student this should have their head examined." He stopped right then, but that wasn't the end of the content.

"I fell for it completely." Genma said with a sigh.

"Wait a minute. You tried teaching Ranma this without even bothering to read the whole section on it?" Akane angrily asked.

"No, the pages were stuck together. By the time I found out there was more to it, it was too late."

"What an idiot." Ranma said as he walked into the room, a man again and with a shirt on.

Genma responded by grabbing the cat again and throwing it at Ranma who froze up at the sight of it. Hanachiyo clinged to him to avoid falling off, and Ranma just stood there looking like he was having a light seizure on his feet.

Nabiki curiously approached him. "Wow, I can't believe it. Big bad electric Ranma is afraid of a little kitty? Too afraid to even bat it away?"

"Watch this." Genma added as he pulled out a few more cats and placed them on Ranma's person, making him tense up even more.

'Where did he get those cats from?' Akane asked herself.

"Ooh, this is fun. How many can he hold?" Nabiki said, making a game of it.

"Just don't get carried away." The older Saotome warned, remembering how bad things can get when Ranma's too scared.

* * *

Later on, after all the extra cats were gone, Ranma, who hadn't freaked out as badly as Genma had worried, was lying down in his futon shaking nervously. Akane was using a moist washcloth to wipe away the sweat. "Don't let it bother you. It's cute to have a small fear."

"Get 'em off me." Ranma said in a dazed panic.

"It's okay, they're gone. Relax."

Back downstairs, Kasumi was placing her friend's pet in a pet carrier. "Stay in here now Hanachiyo. Don't scare Ranma anymore." She was unaware that not too long ago Gosunkugi had returned to the Tendo estate and was hiding underneath the porch.

'Finally. Now I'll know what scares Saotome.' He told himself happily as he got out when Kasumi walked away and looked at the animal cage, laughing quietly.

Hanachiyo found him creepy and attacked him vicously right away, making Gosunkugi walk away with a severely scratched face. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with his findings as he headed home. "Heh, Saotome, soon I'll make you see Cat Hell."


	15. Cat Hell

"Hi Akane. Been in any trouble lately?" Ranma casually asked the youngest Tendo with a small wave in the hallway of Furinkan High after school ended.

"No. Why do you ask?" Akane asked in confusion. Her confusion only increased when he handed her a note saying 'Help me Ranma, I'm being held captive in the gymnasium by horrible people. Come quick. Sincerely, Akane'

**Chapter 15 Cat Hell**

Wanting to get some answers, Ranma and Akane went to the gym. At the far end, they saw somebody in a girl's uniform tied up as if held captive. They didn't have to look too hard to see it was Gosunkugi. "Help me Ranma. Get me out of here." He shouted in a bad imitation of a girl's voice.

'Oh come on, even if I couldn't see the guy from here and tell he's a guy, does he really think I couldn't clearly hear he was a guy from that shout?' Ranma asked himself in annoyance.

Akane however acted on her annoyance and quickly approached the shadowy-eyed boy, grabbing his collar. "What's the big idea here?"

'She's speaking to me again.' Gosunkugi happily thought before he recomposed himself. "I... Ha! You've fallen into my trap Saotome." He replied verbally while he untied himself and Ranma came closer too.

"And _this_ was the best idea you had?" Akane demanded.

"No, this was." He told them as he pulled a rope that was hanging from the ceiling. A trapdoor that neither had noticed before opened up and Akane just happened to be standing on it when it did.

"Uh oh." Gosunkugi said meekly as the girl he liked fell down.

Ranma perched himself carelessly on Gosunkugi's head while the shadowy-eyed boy looked down. "And who was it you wanted to fall down?" He asked, well aware of the answer.

'Fortunately I was prepared for something like this.' Gosunkugi told himself while a tanuki statue fell from above to knock Ranma down. What Gosunkugi didn't count on was bad aim for the statue and good dodging from Ranma. The end result was that both were down in the same room as Akane, but only Gosunkugi was crushed by the statue.

"That looks like it may hurt." Ranma commented without any real sympathy or enjoyment in this site.

Gosunkugi squirmed and the tanuki statue fell off him. "It's over for me." He actually sounded like he was dying, but didn't look the part anymore than he normally did. He reached into his blouse and pulled something out. "Here, I want you to have this."

Ranma took it but Akane recognized it first. "Fish sausages?"

Ranma froze up. 'No, it can't be.'

Akane then noticed the sounds of many cats meowing, and looked to see many slitted eyes in the shadows. They started coming towards them, their numbers impossible to tell but likely no more than thirty at most. Ranma must have noticed their presence too, for he grew rigid.

Gosunkugi stood up and looked confident in his victory. "Heh heh. You can't push me around anymore Saotome. I know your weakness, and it's cats. Go ahead Saotome, scream. I want to see you panic in fear."

Akane plugged her ears. 'This is going to be loud.'

But rather than scream, Ranma started laughing. Quite hysterically in fact, confusing both people around him. Akane looked at him and saw from his expression that he was really just masking his fear but doing a horrible job at it.

"You think a mere cat would scare me?" Ranam asked, his fists crumbling the fish sausage, allowing some cats to eat the remains.

Gosunkugi looked stricken. "But... but I was so sure of this."

Ranma meanwhile kept laughing. Akane patted his shoulder. "Ranma that's enough. Let's get you out of here."

"R-r-right Akane. L-let's go ho-home." He said as she led him towards a door.

"School's still not over yet." She told him. The cats tried to climb all over Ranma so she tried gently batting them away. "Shoo."

They reached the door while Gosunkugi took off the girl's uniform. 'So Saotome's weakness isn't cats? Great, after all that work I did to prepare this set-up.' Had he been more focused on his surroundings, he might have told Akane not to open the door she was about to open.

Sadly, no warning came and Akane opened the door, only to come face to face with a large tiger. Not Genma's tiger-cow form, but a genuine tiger.

Akane screamed and Ranma stopped laughing.

* * *

Back at the Tendo dojo, Genma was sitting down on the back porch enjoying some of Kasumi's tea. Kasumi herself was taking a break from her chores to sit down behind him. "Mr. Saotome, about Ranma's fear of cats, can it be cured? I've heard there are psychological treatments to help people with their fears."

"Take it from me Kasumi, a phobia isn't a disease. You can't get rid of it with some medicine from a doctor. I tried to see if I could get Ranma used to cats until he no longer saw them as a threat. I repeated the training using new materials, dried sardines, salted sardines, fish cakes, you name it. Each failed to improve Ranma's ability to cope with the fear."

"Wouldn't it have been easier to just place him in a room with one cat and no fish products until he could handle it?" Kasumi asked.

Genma sighed. "At the time I was still trying to complete the Cat Fist training so the thought never crossed my mind." Genma then shedded a few small tears. "Each failed attempt tore up my heart."

"Not to mention your son." The eldest Tendo daughter added.

"But the training... created something even worse than just a mere fear."

Kasumi gasped. "There's more?"

* * *

Back under the gym at Furinkan, Ranma, Akane, Gosunkugi, and the many cats were backed up against a wall while the tiger slowly walked towards them. Ranma tried to look tough and guard Akane, but he clearly was scared out of his wits. Too scared to even wet himself.

Akane glared at Gosunkugi, her own fear making her forget her mallet for the moment. "What the hell made you decide to get a tiger?" 'Not only that, where did he get it from, how did he get it here, and how could he afford it?' But she had more important things to worry about than those unasked questions.

Gosunkugi answered the one question Akane did ask aloud. "Because I thought it might scare Saotome."

"Who _wouldn't_ be scared?" Akane added.

The tiger roared threateningly, making Akane bury herself into Ranma for security. Gosunkugi tried to hold onto herself, either to take Ranma's place or to be comforted by her, but she hit him away. Ranma meanwhile was approaching meltdown. Having to deal with Genma's cursed form had helped him cope with the presence of a tiger, but only slightly when confronted by the real thing.

"Ranma, please do something." Akane said pleadingly, starting to cry in her panic. Ranma kept looking between her, the tiger, and the many frightened cats clinging to his arms and legs.

* * *

Genma looked towards Kasumi, seated like he was trying to look sagely. "His fear of cats is only part of the problem. The real trouble begins when he gets too scared."

"Too scared?" Kasumi asked.

Genma nodded. "Ranma can handle cats up to a point. But when he reaches and goes past that point, when the fear is practically the only thing on his mind, he yowls."

Kasumi was confused. "Yowls? What do you mean by that?"

"At that point, he is uncontrollable. In a way, the training for the Cat Fist was successful, but not in the way I expected it to be."

* * *

"Rowr."

Akane looked at Ranma, confused by the noise he just made. His eyes were wide and he was grinning ferally, but not like he was enjoying himself. Then he got out of her grip and stood on all fours. Even the tiger looked confused by this, but only momentarily.

"R-Ranma?" Akane asked, worried that something was seriously wrong here. He and the tiger were facing each other off. Ranma then sat down with his left hand on the floor and his right hand up making a pseudo-claw, reminding Akane of the waving cat statues she'd see occasionally around town. His growl in the back of his throat only made him appear more animalish. "Is that it? Is this what Mr. Saotome meant by the Cat Fist?" 'Just what can it do? Can it beat a tiger?'

* * *

The basketball club meanwhile was in the gym practicing, ignorant of the commotion happening below them. Speaking of ignorant, Kuno was more interested in hearing from Gosunkugi what Ranma's weakness was. The voodoo user told him that in the gym he could be able to confirm and prove for all to see just what could make Ranma cower before another, even Kuno.

"At last, when I learn how to smite that womanizer, the green-haired girl will be mine!" KUno declared triumphantly, using his own twisted logic as usual. The basketball teams just ignored him, however difficult it was.

One thing they couldn't ignore was the sudden increase of noise from the direction of the stage. Everyone in the gym turned to see whatever was causing it. "What's going on?" Suddenly the floor burst and a geyser of cats came gushing out. "Cats?"

Among the cats was a large tiger, and it landed right on Kuno's front. The basketball players weren't sure what was weirder, the fact that Kuno was able to support the tiger's weight without losing his own balance, or the fact that the tiger was crying and whimpering like a scared kitten. It was even holding onto Kuno like how a child clings to it's parent for safety.

Kuno just seemed to brush the whole thing off. "I'm sorry, but my heart belongs to another."

"I don't think it's asking you out on a date Kuno!" One of the basketball players shouted. 'What an ego, he thinks even animals fall prey to his charm.'

The geyser of cats stopped and the felines fled the gym like Godzilla was chasing them. But something else came out of the hole and it sure moved fast. Kuno could see it was Ranma, bounding around like a pinball to gain momentum. "Saotome?"

Ranma gained enough momentum and sprung forward, and made a clawing motion towards Kuno and the tiger, his real target of the two hard to say. Both got out of the way in time, and the tiger moved to behind Kuno for protection. Kuno could see that with just his fingers Ranma had tore a gash in the hardwood floor like it was paper.

"Have you gone mad?" Kuno asked before he swung his bokken at the pigtailed martial artist, who responded by clawing at it. To the kendoist's surprise, the bokken was turned into wooden shavings that covered the floor. The basketball players were in awe of such an inhuman feat, but Kuno was livid. "My blade? How dare you defile such a weapon?" Ranma just hissed and bared his fangs.

'He's acting like an animal. Maybe the best way to handle him now is to treat him like an animal.' Kuno told himself, showing a brief moment of rational thought. He acted by throwing his ruined practice sword outside. "Fetch!" Ranma may not have been a dog, but nonetheless he did go after the stick.

Akane finally got back into the gym from the basement and saw Ranma go outside. She was instantly worried about how much trouble he could get into and cause if he was outside and went after him. "Ranma! Come back!" She chased after him.

* * *

Kasumi was about to ask for further clarification, but the phone rang. "Excuse me for a moment." She got up to answer the phone. "Hello, Tendo residence." She listened to the person on the other end for a moment. "What?" She sounded shocked. "Oh yes, certainly. Thanks for telling us. Bye." She hung up the phone and came back towards Genma. "Mr. Saotome, something's going on at the school."

Genma sighed. "I was afraid this would happen." He then got up and left, moving quicker than one would suspect he could.

* * *

When Akane caught up to him, he had lost interest in Kuno's bokken and was perched on a tree limb, scratching behind his ear with his leg. By now several other students of Furinkan had seen or heard of his strange behavior and came to see what was going on.

"Ranma, please answer me. What's wrong with you?" Akane asked.

"He's just like a cat." A male student claimed.

"Words can't reach him now." Genma stated, appearing right next to Akane as he looked at his son.

"Mr. Saotome? When'd you get here? And what happened to him?" Akane asked.

The bald martial artist ignored her first question and pulled out a knapsack while he answered her second. "When Ranma becomes too frightened by cats, overwhelmed to the point where little matters more than escape, his mind can only cope by becoming a cat himself."

Ranma busied himself by sharpening his claws on the tree, creating more wooden shaving in the process. Genma continued. "This is apparently how the Cat Fist works. He can overcome any obstacle, defeat even the fiercest creature in nature, and make any warrior fall before him. But sadly he acts as he does now in order to do so."

"How do we return him to normal?" Akane asked.

"Only one thing has ever snapped him out of this. An old woman who lived in our neighborhood at the time of the training. She was able to calm him enough that he no longer felt the need to be this defensive."

"Then we have to go find that woman." Akane claimed.

Genma stood up, and revealed that during his explanation he had been using the contents of the knapsack to dress himself up as a old woman. And he didn't do that good a job at it. "No, I'll have to do it instead." The effect of seeing him like this made Akane and several other students jump back in surprise. Genma ignored them and jumped onto the branch Ranma was on, being cautious in case it couldn't support both their weight.

"Ranma." The Saotome patriarch said to catch his son's attention. It worked, and Ranma arched his back like a startled cat. Genma pulled out a cat toy, the kind with a fluffy end that the person waves to catch the feline's interest. "Here kitty kitty." 'I feel like such a fool.'

Ranma growled, not interested in playing right now. Then he pounced. It was hard to see just what happened, but apparently a huge cloud of smoke was generated, covering the top of the tree. Sounds of struggling could be heard, and it sounded like a lion tamer was trying to do his job the hard way. When the smoke cleared, the top of the tree looked like it had been shoved thru a paper shredder that worked on wood, and Genma fell to the ground unconscious.

Ranam looked unscathed and was trying to run away. "He's getting away." A classmate shouted.

"Not if he smells this." Akane said, showing something else Genma brought along. A big pile of catnip on a blanket.

"Catnip?" A female student asked.

"Well, they do say cats can't resist the stuff." A male student replied.

Akane was given a bow from the archery club, bundled the catnip into a large sack, and tied it to the arrow. Fortunately the arrow was blunt, but Akane wasn't trying to hit Ranma, just aim towards him. She fired while Ranma was in a jump, and he actually batted away the arrow.

"Wow. Can anything stop him?" A student asked.

After the arrow broke, the sack unwrapped and the catnip was exposed. The scent overwhelmed Ranma, making him fall to the ground on all fours. He looked relaxed and relatively drugged, then started jumping around like a festive feline. A few students ran off, worried that the situation just got worse. As Ranma jumped, he happened to jump towards Akane.

"Look out Akane!" Her friend Sayuri shouted out, but it was too late.

Akane couldn't dodge in time and was knocked to the ground. She closed her eyes and waited for any attack, but felt nothing painful rather than a sore rear end. When she opened her eyes, she saw Ranma was curled on her lap and purring.

"She did it! She calmed him down!" One of the basketball club members shouted.

"Amazing, Akane." Her friend Yuka said.

"Guess he knows his fiancee even as an animal." Another female classmate added.

Akane didn't reply, too embarrassed to do so. 'Is she right? What could it mean if she is?' Deciding she didn't want make a spectacle out of herself, she gently pushing Ranma but he didn't budge. "C'mon Ranma, get off please. I'd like to stand up again."

Ranma had been licking the back of his hand, like a cat would clean themselves, but stopped when the girl he was seated on started to push him. Not wanting to leave this comfortable spot, he stretched his head up and tried nuzzling her, hoping she'd pet him instead. In the process, their lips made contact, and the human part of Ranma's mind may have made his cat-controlled body stay that way for a tad bit longer than necessary.

Everyone saw this and gasped, but none were more caught off guard than Akane had been. She looked like someone had just caught her and Ranma having sex in broad daylight, while Ranma went back to purring and resting in her lap now that she wasn't trying to remove him.

Off in the distance, Nabiki, having been photographing as much as she could from a safe distance, lowered her camera. "Whoa, I _really_ hope I caught that moment. That's a keeper."

"They kissed!" Yuka said, clearly a statement and not a request for confirmation.

"He kissed Akane." Ranma's friend Daisuke told the guy next to him.

Not wanting to be there much longer, Akane suddenly stood up, making Ranma fall off. She ran away and only Ranma followed her.

"Was that their first kiss?" Sayuri asked the other girls.

"It couldn't be." Yuka said.

"They are engaged after all." Another girl commented.

* * *

Akane didn't stop running until she made it home. Ranma followed her and meowing longingly, hoping for more affection. Akane collapsed from exhaustion and leaned against the wall, panting to catch her breath. Ranma rubbed against her, purring.

Akane looked at him, and cried. "Why did our first kiss have to be like that? I hoped you would at have at least been you when it happened, not a cat."

"You and Ranma kissed?" Kasumi said, her head sticking out of the kitchen.

Akane was too tired, physically and mentally to bear more of the issue. "Not now Kasumi. I'm in no mood."

The older Tendo daughter then looked at Ranma. "So that's Ranma when he gets too scared? Mr. Saotome didn't quite finish his explanation. Does he act like a cat?"

Akane nodded, and couldn't help but pet Ranma a little. "Yeah, and he gets rather aggressive too. But apparently I calm him down."

Kasumi smiled. "I guess that means deep down he does like you Akane." The younger girl blushed and looked away. "And if he kissed you, that must mean something."

"It... wasn't what I expected. I always figured it would happen because we both wanted it, not like that."

"So you didn't like it?" Kasumi asked.

Akane hesitated to answer. "More like I wasn't prepared for it. And everyone saw it."

"That's not so bad." Kasumi said. "At least he was male, right?" Akane nodded. "Although if you do marry him someday, you should at least be aware of the possibility of kissing his female form."

Akane looked away. "I'm not ready to think about that."

Meanwhile, Tofu got a package addressed to him from China, but when he opened it, it was empty.


	16. Shampoo's Back

_Sorry for the long delay in updates, it shouldn't happen again._

That night, Gosunkugi was nailing a photo of Ranma to a tree with candles strapped to his head, hitting it with his small mallet repeatedly. Kuno was trying to cut apart a bamboo mat with his bokken, attacking it like he hoped it would bleed. Both were saying the same thing to themselves.

"Damn you Saotome! Why can't I beat you?"

**Chapter 16 Shampoo's Back**

Ranma was currently in Akane's room, seated on the floor while she was on the bed. Ranma had returned to normal after Akane had petted him and called him a 'good kitty' for a little bit. It had felt nice, but now he and her were too embarrassed to even look at each other. The main reason the two were even alone together was to avoid the hard time the rest of the household was sure to give them when they heard the new development in their relationship.

For five minutes they had tried talking to each other but failed to make even half a word come out. After a while, Ranma decided to just get it over with. "Imsorryimadeyouuncomfortable."

Akane quickly looked at him. "What was that?"

"I said... I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable." He looked down.

"What makes you say that?"

Ranma did not move his eyes up as he spoke. "Having me lay down on your lap... must have bothered you a lot if you won't stop blushing." His first memory after turning back to normal was him perched like a cat on Akane's lap, as a male. He was embarrassed by the situation, and since no one had told him anything on what he had done in cat mode, he imagined Akane was embarrassed for the same reason.

"That's..." Akane suddenly choked up for a moment. "That's not why I was blushing, Ranma."

Said young man tilted his head slightly sideways. "Then what happened?"

Akane did not want to answer that, but if she didn't then Nabiki would and that wasn't a more preferable choice in all honesty. "When you... were still... acting like a cat, you..." Her throat suddenly went dry, as if protesting the statement Akane was trying to tell him.

"I what?" Ranma asked. Akane said something again, much too quietly for him to hear this time. "I can't hear you ya know."

"You kissed me, okay?" Akane, shouted irritated for having to do so.

Ranma blinked several times. "You're kidding, right?"

Akane glared. "Why? Am I so repulsive to you that you have to be out of your mind to kiss me?"

"What? No of course not!"

Akane just leaned in towards him more. "Then why does the idea of kissing me bother you so much Ranma?"

"Because you've never given me any sign you wanted that!" Ranma shouted. Akane looked surprised and backed up, making Ranma feel he had put his foot in his mouth again. "I mean... you said you hate boys, and you and I aren't engaged as far as we're concerned. Why exactly would I believe you wanted me to do something like that to you? That's why I'm bothered."

"If that's true, then why did you do it?" Akane calmly asked. 'Did he want to do it anyway? Does that mean he's starting to like me?' The thought made her heart pound a bit but she had no idea why.

"I... I don't know. When I'm like a cat, I don't know what I'm doing and I never remember any of it when I snap out of it. I can't tell you why I did that. I'm sorry if I upset you though."

"I was more... embarrassed than upset. A lot of people were watching you know."

"Actually... I wouldn't know." Ranma said. "Y'see, when I go cat like that, I can't remember anything that happened when I finally snap out of it."

"So you really don't remember anything?" Akane asked, and Ranma nodded. 'Weird, I don't know if I should be relieved or disappointed. I mean, yeah he's a boy, but he's the most decent one I've ever met aside from Tofu.' "In that case, don't worry about it too much."

Ranma sighed. "Good. Cause I'd hate to think that was it for us."

Akane blushed. "What do you mean by that Ranma?"

"Well, you do have a reputation for hating men for being... well, _men_. I was worried now you'd see me as a pervert too." He explained.

"My standards aren't that l-" Akane started but cut herself off. 'Wait a minute, what exactly are my standards for what makes someone a pervert or not? When was the last time I really thought about that? I mean, Kuno's one because he's constantly trying to have a claim to me, but I didn't think of Ranma as one when his hand accidentally brushed against my backside. Maybe I should think more about a person's motive than just focusing on their actions.'

Akane sighed then knelt down before Ranma and placed her hand gently on his own. "I don't think you're a pervert Ranma. You proved that the day I met you by warning me about your curse when you could have stayed silent and seen me about to bathe. And I promise not to ever accuse you of being one on impulse either."

"Good, because how can we be friends if you're always looking for something to be mad at?" Ranma asked with no insult.

Akane looked hurt. "Is... is that how you see me as, Ranma?"

"What? No, of course not. It's just..." He paused for a moment then sighed. "Look Akane. A while ago, I asked around school about you. Y'know, see what others knew about you, why the Hentai Horde existed in the first place, that sort of thing. I heard some good things and some bad things, but what everyone agreed on was that you believed all men were perverts and all they wanted to do was get into your pants. Nobody gets a reputation with nothing to back it up. So even though you never said that kind of stuff to me, I worried it was only a matter of time until you did."

Akane just looked at the pig-tailed young man before sighing. "Ranma, you're right. I do have that reputation and there is a reason for it. That idiot Kuno started some business he had no right to and a lot of boys went along with it. When I found out, I was afraid of them. I thought they were going to rape me. I mean, a bunch of boys thought the best way to get with a girl was to beat her in a fight? Who wouldn't think of that as attempted rape? I was afraid of what they wanted, that they were just perverts who wanted my body and couldn't care less about me as a person, so I began to hate them. And soon I turned that hate towards any boy that showed any interest in me."

"But why am I different? Is it because I can become a girl?" Ranma asked.

"That is part of it, I'll admit that." Akane told him. "You yourself told me you know what it's like to feel men ogle you and only care about your appearance. Like they'd rip off your clothes and do more if they felt they could get away with. It's not a nice feeling. I know, that's how the group that attacked me each morning made me feel. So I know that since you've experienced that fear, you're not likely to actually do that to me."

Ranma looked confused. "So then... what exactly am I allowed to do with you that you'll approve of?"

"Take me on more flights, that's something I won't complain about." Akane quickly said with a smile. "Other than that, just respect my privacy and don't try to make me do anything I don't want to, and we should get along just fine. Then who knows? Maybe someday we can actually take the engagement seriously?"

Ranma shrugged. "I think our old mans think we already do."

"At least they're not trying to make us get married right away. Nabiki's making sure they don't have enough funds to try."

"Good, cause the last thing I need is for them to try and get us hitched right away." Ranma claimed.

Akane chuckled. "It could be worse. You could have another girl who actually wants to marry you trying to butt into your life too."

* * *

After their talk, both teens felt better about what embarrassed them earlier. Ranma went down to the furo, hoping to have a soak. Akane wanted one too, but a quick game of rock-paper-scissors helped them decide who'd go first. Ranma had stripped down and washed himself, activating his curse, and was about ready to get into the tub when her danger sense alerted her.

"Who's there?" She asked, looking around for any possible intruder.

From behind the shelf that held the towels and wash tubs the Tendo's used when bathing, stepped a white cat with brown spots. "Meow!"

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Ranma screamed, electricity dancing around herself defensively.

"Meow?" The cat actually sounded like it was asking a question. If Ranma wasn't so afraid right then, she'd probably notice the hair ornaments on the side of the cat's head and the fact that the cat was practically see-thru.

But Ranma had other things on her mind, like getting away from the feline. She tried to run away from it but the cat followed, unafraid of the lightning. "GET AWAY!" Ranma shouted before sending a small bolt at the cat. The bolt ended up just passing thru the cat like it wasn't even there, leaving a burn mark on the tiled floor.

The cat then grew bigger, until it was practically the size of a panda and stood on it's back legs. Ranma was so close to reverting to the Cat Fist right then, but the cat pushed her back into the tub before she fully could. Ranma fell back, too afraid to remember she could fly and landed in the water. The cat jumped in, confusing the green-haired girl.

Ranma resurfaced back in his true form. But when he did, Shampoo popped out of the water right next to him. "Sh-Sha-Shampoo?"

"Nihao!" She said, not even bothering to cover herself up as she sat there in the hot water with him. "You are man! Shampoo happy!" She then grabbed him in a bear hug.

"Ranma? Is everything-?" Akane shouted, having heard the gender-changer scream bloody murder just a few seconds ago. She barged into the room and stopped only when she saw the purple-haired Chinese girl from not too long ago attempt to get comfortable with Ranma right then.

"Akane, it's not what it looks like! I swear!" Ranma said, trying to keep Shampoo from hugging him.

So many thoughts were going thru Akane's mind right then even she couldn't keep track of half of them. Part of her thought that Ranma had betrayed her trust by getting into a tub with another girl right after their heartfelt talk. But another part of her felt there had to be a good reason for this since Ranma didn't like Shampoo and she really wanted to believe he was a boy she could trust. Unable to make a decision on how to react, Akane ended up not reacting at all, just standing their with her fists clenched looking at the scene before here.

Before she got a chance to make up her own mind, Ranma started explaining the situation. "I was just about to take a bath when I saw a cat in the room come up to me. I panicked and tried to get away but I fell in here and the cat jumped in, turning into Shampoo. I swear I did not want this to happen Akane." Shampoo ignored the whole thing.

It took a minute but his words got thru to Akane, making her relax a bit. "You sure?" She asked, sounding like she still didn't believe it.

"Ranma happy Shampoo back?" The Chinese girl asked.

"Why are you back? I thought you said we'd never see each other again. Isn't that what 'bie liao' means?" Ranma asked.

"Shampoo confused and needed answers. Had to go home for them." She replied.

Akane reached over and forcefully pulled Shampoo off of Ranma before glaring right at her. "So why did you show up here in the bathroom?"

Shampoo smirked condescendingly. "What? You jealous you no have great body like Shampoo do?" She said as she stood up and showed off her well-developed figure. Ranma and Akane both blushed from this lack of modesty, but both for different reasons.

"That's not the point!" Akane screamed, ready to hit this intruder.

"Shampoo, why did you become a c-c-cat like that?" Ranma asked.

'Cat? Was that why Ranma screamed?' Akane asked herself.

"Oh, it bad luck for me." Shampoo replied.

-Flashback-

Shampoo was in Jusenkyo with her great-grandmother Cologne, awaiting whatever her mentor had to say or do to her. Meanwhile her father had a chat with the Jusenkyo guide. The two women stood atop poles above the cursed pools of water.

"Shampoo, you know that you've done a bad thing by returning here without killing your target, right?" Cologne asked, speaking in Mandarin.

Shampoo nodded, and replied in Mandarin as well. "I know, but I could not tell for sure if the target was really a man or a woman. I needed to contact you to find out and I couldn't do that except by returning here."

I understand that. That is the reason you will not suffer the standard punishment for neglecting your duty." The old woman replied, already informed on what Shampoo knew of Ranma. "Your target apparently came to these springs before you did and got a curse to become the opposite gender. But you cannot say for absolute certainty which gender is the birth one of this Ranma. I will tell you how to find out and you will then go back to Japan, find out, and do what needs to be done to him. To ensure you do it right, I will accompany you as well, but I expect you to not need me to guide you or make the right decision there."

Shampoo nodded. "I can do that, Great-grandmother. So, how do I know for sure if Ranma boy I will marry or girl I will kill."

"This is how." Cologne said before rushing forward and knocking Shampoo off the pole before she knew what was coming. 'I hate to do this to you, my dear descendant, but I could not get you to avoid punishment completely, This was the best I could get the others to settle for.'

Shampoo attempted to grab ahold of the pole she had been on but failed and fell right in. The guard and her father saw the splash but did not get wet.

"Shampoo?" Her father almost shouted in panic.

"Hmm... looks like your daughter fell into Maonichuan, Spring of Drowned Cat, where cat drown there 1800 years ago. So now whoever falls in same spring..." The guard explained, and at that time, a housecat crawled out of the water. "...takes body of cat."

"Shampoo, my daughter." Her father weeped, then picked her up. "I'll find you some water to return you to normal."

"No sir, bad idea." The guard pointed out.

The Chinese man grabbed a map of Jusenkyo and found a spring labeled Nyannichuan. "Here Shampoo, this will save you." He then dunked the cat into the pool, but when he pulled away, Shampoo did not emerge as a normal human. Instead, she was still a cat, only now she was see-thru.

Cologn and the guide came up to the girls father. "Sir, that was not good. You hold map upside down. This is Guishennichuan, Spring of Drowned Ghost. One of oldest springs in Jusenkyo. Whoever falls in spring, becomes a ghost."

"You've just turned your own daughter into a ghost cat." Cologne added dryly.

-End Flashback-

Akane and Ranma just sat there, not sure what to say after hearing that. Shampoo meanwhile had sat down and wrapped a towel around herself.

Akane spoke first. "A ghost cat? You really expect us to believe that you become a ghost?"

Shampoo grabbed a bucket. "See for yourself."

"No! Don't!" Ranma shouted, but she didn't listen. Shampoo doused herself and became a normal-sized cat. He looked away and scrambled to get dressed and out of there.

Akane meanwhile looked at the cat further. 'Wow, I actually can see the tiles right thru her, but this could still be a trick. Whoever heard of a ghost drowning?' To make matters more confusing, Shampoo suddenly grew bigger, bigger than even Akane herself was. The short-haired girl was intimidated for a moment, but stuck her hand out and saw it went right thru the giant cat.

"Agh!" Akane had to pull her hand out right away. "You're so cold. You're practically freezing." Shampoo nodded and stepped into the tub to warm up and become human again. "So you really do become a ghost?"

"Yes. Shampoo can walk thru walls and change size, but always feel cold. Like being warm, and around kotatsus. They help warm up nicely."

'Does this mean the curses mix?' Akane asked herself.

Shampoo got out of the tub and dried herself off again. "I warm. Thanks for bath."

Akane then frowned. "You're not killing Ranma or marrying him, understand?"

Shampoo shrugged this off. "I go now, but Shampoo got what wanted. I be back later." With that, she got dressed and walked out, unnoticed by the rest of the household.

'That doesn't sound good.' Akane thought, warning bells going off in her head.

* * *

Ranma was outside a few roofs over wearing his combat pants and a white tank top, trying to calm down from seeing the largest cat he had ever seen. 'Dammit, not only is shampoo back but she just had to transform into that animal. Why Kami why?'

His danger sense went off and he narrowly dodged an attack from behind. He spun to avoid it, and saw an old woman that barely came up to his knees and perched on a cane twice her height at least. What he couldn't dodge was a hit of cold water, activating his curse. "And who are you?"

"You are Ranma Saotome, right?"

"Yeah-tcha. What's it to you?" Right now Ranma did not have his white bandanna on her stubby horns were quite apparent. Luckily no one but this old woman could see them.

Rather than answer, the old woman tried to knock the oni girl off her feet. Ranma just hovered and bent her knees up. The old woman responded by hitting the top of Ranma's head hard with her cane, making her stop hovering momentarily.

"You old hag!" Ranma said angrily. The old woman then ran off, jumping from roof to roof, and Ranma flew after her. "Get back here-tcha!"

"Why don't you catch me?" The old woman taunted.

"Can do!" Ranma said before firing a bold of lightning at her target. The old woman dodged them all, albeit narrowly, then hid herslef on a different roof.

"Heh, just as I thought, he's a hundred years away from catching me."

"I wouldn't say that-tcha." Ranma stated confidently, hovering behind her.

Cologne was actually momentarily surprised, and in all honesty, quite a bit impressed too. She calmly turned around to face the green-haired girl. "Not bad. Just what I expected from the man my Shampoo chose as her husband."

"I am _not_ her husband-tcha." Ranma replied.

"Hmmph. In that case..." She suddenly pulled out something and moved faster than Ranma could see. "In two or three days time, you'll be begging me to be Shampoo's husband. Remember my name, son-in-law, for you will want to see me soon. I am Cologne, and when you want me, tell Shampoo." She then ran off.

Ranma didn't follow her this time. Instead, she looked over herself to see if the elderly Amazon had done anything to her. Nothing felt different, until she felt around her horns, and felt something tied to them. Whatever it was, she couldn't see it without a mirror, but it felt like fabric.

"Hmmph. Big whoop." Ranma commented before tugging the odd thing. It didn't budge; it remained firmly tied around her horns. "What the hell?" She tired again, using both hands, and it still wouldn't come off. "I better get a pair of scissors or something-tcha." She said before jumping off the roof to fly home.

Only to crash on the ground, unable to fly. "I... I can't fly. What did that ghoul do to me?"

_In case anyone's confused, Shampoo's cursed form is that of the UY character Kotatsuneko. She just has the ability to change between normal cat size and the character's normal size. Genma here has something similar in his tiger-cow form where he can become as Rei does or as big as a panda._


	17. Yellow Ribbon

"I... I can't fly. What did that ghoul do to me?"

Ranma kept trying, but the obstruction on her scalp would not come loose. "I better get back home and have someone cut it off-tcha." She then shivered. "And fast. It's freezing out here wearing just a bikini."

**Chapter 17 Yellow Ribbon**

Moments later, a shivering Ranma was back inside the warmth of the Tendo house. "Oh, that feels much better-tcha."

"Ranma?" Nabiki asked, having walked by the door right then. "Where'd you go at this time of night like that? And why are you wearing bows in your hair?"

"I didn't put it on, some crazy old lady did. And I can't take it off. Can you get some scissors?"

"Seriously Ranma, what happened?" Nabiki asked, not buying his explanation.

"I'm serious. I can't take this thing off-tcha." Ranma irritably repeated while making an effort to pull the ribbon off her horns. "It won't budge."

"Alright fine, I'll take a look at it." Nabiki said wearily, reaching one hand out to untie the knot. As soon as she tried, she found the ribbon indeed refused to move. "Wow that's on tight." She then used both hands and moved to get a better view of the knot. She tugged and tried to get her fingers under the ribbon to loosen it, but the cloth would not give. "Damn, I guess you do need scissors. Just how did this get on you again?" She asked as they walked towards the kitchen.

"Some old woman calling herself Shampoo's grandmother put it on me-tcha. Said it'll make me beg to be her husband."

"Not while you're in that form you won't." Nabiki commented. During Ranma's time away Akane had informed her sisters that Shampoo had returned with a curse of her own. "Hard to be a husband when you're female."

They entered the kitchen where they saw washing the dishes with Akane's help. Both girls turned to see Ranma. "Shampoo's gone now Ranma." Akane told him, barely noticing he was currently in his cursed form now. She was starting to get used to it.

"Kasumi, do you know where a pair of scissors are?" Nabiki asked, then tugged on the ribbon. "Ranma's got something stuck in her hair she can't get out."

Ranma gave the mercenary a deadpan look. "Don't make it sound like bubblegum-tcha."

"Hold on a second." Kasumi said before handing Akane a plate before grabbing a towel to dry her hands and leave the kitchen.

"Can't you just untie it?" Akane asked.

"Would we be asking for scissors if we could?" Nabiki asked back. "Feel free to try yourself if you want."

Akane did, and as soon as she dried the plate she came up to Ranma and tried to remove the obstruction. And failed miserably. She just kept trying, looking like she was trying to uproot a tree.

Ranam screamed in pain and tried to get Akane to let go. "STOP AKANE YOU'RE GOING TO RIP MY HORNS OFF-TCHA!"

Akane stopped and breathed hard. "Damn. Is that thing cemented on? How did you get that thing on in the first place?"

Kasumi came in with a set of scissors. "This should handle the problem." She tried to cut it off, but the scissors didn't even unravel the ribbon, let alone cut it. "Huh? Have the scissors gone dull?" She tested them on a paper towel, and saw they worked fine.

"This is no ordinary ribbon." Nabiki mused. "What if you change back into a man? Would they fall off if you have no horns?"

"It's worth a try." Ranma commented.

Kasumi got some warm water from the sink and Ranma splashed it over herself. She knew something was wrong the moment she saw the stunned expressions of the three Tendo daughters. "What is it?" She asked, then gasped when she heard her still-female voice.

She didn't change back into a guy.

"Maybe it wasn't hot enough." Akane suggested, and went to get some warmer water. She filled the glass she took from Ranma and then threw it in her face.

"Agh! Don't throw hot water in someone's face Akane-tcha!" Ranma said angrily, still in his female oni form.

"Ranma, did the woman who put this on you say anything about it?" Nabiki asked.

"No. All she said was her name was Cologne, she was related to Shampoo, and in a few days I'd be begging to be Shampoo's husband."

"I can see why." Nabiki stated. "My guess is she's the only one who can remove this ribbon and she won't do it unless you give her what she wants."

"Too bad for her that she trapped you in the form that electrocutes people who anger you." Akane said, hoping this would cheer Ranma up.

Ranma hung her head. "That's another thing. I... I can't fly now. And I can't make lightning anymore-tcha. I've tried the entire way back, but I can't do it."

"You can't fly?" Akane asked, sounding upset.

"You can't make electricity?" Kasumi asked, sounding uncertain.

"You can't change back?" Nabiki asked, sounding curious.

"The shame! My son is now trapped as a weak helpless girl!" Genma dramatically proclaimed.

"How long have you been listening?" Nabiki asked, surprised he now showed up.

Soun popped up out of nowhere as well, crying a river. "Please say something can be done about this."

"Oh there is a simple solution." Cologne said, surprising them all. "Just agree to wed my granddaughter."

Soun pulled out a megaphone. "Are you senile? Ranma is engaged to AKANE!"

Cologne could not look less bothered by the man's outburst. "Our ways are absolute."

"Yeah, absolute crap!" Ranma angrily added, earning her a whack on the head from the old lady's cane.

"Show some respect for your elders boy. Not to mention I'm the only one who can give you what you want."

"My, you sure speak Japanese well for a foreigner." Kasumi complimented.

"I've learned quite a bit in my 100 years."

"Wow, you're younger than you look." Nabiki commented.

"Get this ribbon offa me-thca!" Ranma demanded.

Cologne didn't look the least bit intimidated by the screaming oni. "Wed Shampoo and I'll be happy to."

"Just what kind of ribbon is this anyway?" Akane asked. "How come we can't remove it and why does it affect Ranma like it does?"

Cologne shrugged. "It's nothing special. It's just a carefully enchanted ribbon made to subdue demons. And oni's are considered demons so it works just fine. Since I'm the one who placed it on you, I'm the only one who can take it off. You know my terms, so what do you say?"

"My answer's no. I don't even know Shampoo so why would I want to marry her?"

"I had a feeling you would say that, but try having that attitude after spending some time in that body without your little tricks available." Cologne said before using her cane to stand up, or rather stand up on it like some sort of human koala. "I'll check back in a few days so see if you've changed your mind." She then pogoed away and outside.

"Who invited her inside?" Ranma asked.

"I don't think anyone did." Akane commented.

"Ranma, whatever you do, find a way to make that old woman return you to normal." Genma ordered.

"Are you nuts Saotome? You heard her. We cannot have Ranma marry anyone but Akane." Soun argued.

"I know that. But I will not have Ranma stuck like this."

"So what do you suggest?" Nabiki asked, wondering if Genma had thought that far ahead and doubting it.

Genma looked right at his son-turned-daughter. "Ranma, I don't care how you do it, make that woman return you to normal. You cannot live your life weak and pathetic like other women!"

Before he could continue his rant, Akane grabbed the table and beat him over the head with it, knocking the fat martial artist out cold.

"Not_ that_ he had coming-tcha." Ranma said without worry.

* * *

The next day, Ranma was determined to find a way to get rid of the ribbon without submitting to Cologne. But when she was eating breakfast, wearing the spare outfit Akane had given her before consisting of a yellow shirt and dark blue shorts, she was presented with another dilemma.

"What are you going to do about going to school?" Nabiki asked.

"There's no way I'm going to school as a girl-tcha!" Ranma declared. "You think I want Kuno to try and do his stupid crap to me all day? When I can't use lightning or fly away?"

"Good point." Akane agreed.

"But how will you get excused?" Kasumi asked.

Nabiki chuckled. "You could just saw it's your time of the month."

"Nabiki!" Akane screeched.

"Just what is a 'time of the month' anyway?" Ranma asked, earning surprised looks from the three women. "Pops said something once about how girls have a 'time of the month' where they go crazy for no reason-tcha. Will that happen to me if I stay like this too long?"

The three girls looked at the elder Saotome with strong looks of disapproval. Thinking quickly, he got wet and turned into a tiger-cow. 'Animal cruelty is illegal' His upheld sign read.

"Mr. Saotome, it is rather irresponsible of you to neglect informing your son about what women go thru considering the fact he can become one." Kasumi sternly told Genma.

"What were you going to tell him if he started bleeding? That he sprained something?" Akane asked.

'What are they talking about?' Ranma asked herself.

"Getting back to the original topic..." Nabiki interjected. "...I think we should have Ranma excused from school for the next few days. During that time she'll try and find a way to get that thing off her. If she can't, then maybe we'll have to let the school know."

Ranma looked down. "I don't want to be seen as a freak-tcha."

Akane patted her back comfortingly. "You're not a freak Ranma."

The oni girl didn't look comforted. "Akane, if you didn't know me that well, would you call me normal or a perverted freak?"

Akane didn't know how to answer that.

* * *

After breakfast Nabiki and Akane went off to school while Ranma walked around town trying to come up with a plan. 'There's no way I'm agreeing to marry Shampoo. Go back to China and live in her tribe? I'm not even sure how they treat men, it _is_ an amazon village after all. Plus Japan is my home. But it's not like I can trick the old ghoul into taking this off or bargain with her.'

Ranma put her hand on her chin. 'Hmm... I can't do that, but what if I challenge her to a fight so she will have to remove it if she loses? She's old so she can't be that good. but then again I'm not used to fighting in this body without the perks that go with it. That kind of evens us out.'

That made Ranma sigh, then a new idea struck her. 'Unless I insist Shampoo fight in her place. That could work.'

Now filled with vigor, Ranma set out to find the old amazon or the purple-haired one, thinking it couldn't be that hard.

That turned out to be easier said than done, for Ranma had no idea just where to look for either. And after about an hour of searching, she got tired and sat down on a park bench.

"How hard can it be to find a purple-haired Chinese girl in Japan?" She asked herself.

A passerby who looked to be around Soun's age happened to overheard that comment. "Oh, you mean that girl at that new Chinese restaurant that just opened up?"

Ranma perked right up. "A Chinese restaurant?"

The passerby nodded. "Yeah, it opened up today I think. It's called the Cat Cafe I think. Probably because of all the cat statues decorating the place."

'Great, a place named after _that_ animal.' Ranma thought. "Can you tell me where it is?" The passerby gave the name of the street. "Thanks. Bye-tcha." The oni girl then rushed off and the passerby went on his business.

Ranma got to the restaurant in no time. A sign declared it the Cat Cafe and in the windows one could see waving cat statues greeting those that came in. It certainly looked new but also looked plain, as if set up in a hurry or like the management didn't want to be extravagant.

'Maybe they don't plan on being here for long, and just need a place to sleep and a way to make money until they do leave.' Ranma theorized. 'Never mind, just do what you came here to do.' She opened the door and walked in.

"Nihao, welcome to Cat-Ranma, that you?" Shampoo greeted.

"Hi Shampoo." The gender bender greeted halfheartedly.

Shampoo didn't seem to mind and looked quite happy. "You come to be with Shampoo?"

"Actually, I came here to ask your grandmother something-tcha."

"Great-Grandmother busy in back. Why want disturb her?" Shampoo answered and asked.

Before more could be said, the old woman in question came up to them. "Ah Son-in-law, I was wondering if you would show up today. Are you ready to become Shampoo's husband."

"I"m only sixteen. I don't want to marry anyone just yet-tcha." Ranma flatout stated then looked at Shampoo. "What about you Shampoo? You wanna get hitched so young?"

"Young? We at good age for it." The purple-haired amazon replied, sounding confused.

At Ranma's stunned expression, Cologne spoke up. "Maybe to you marriage at sixteen is young, but in our culture it is socially acceptable. Rest assured Shampoo would not be able to legally get away with the Kiss of Marriage if she were too young for the law to take into account."

"Okay, but my culture says we're too young, and you can't expect me to just ignore what I was raised in." The oni girl countered.

"So why did you come here? Surely you must know you cannot bargain for your return to normal." Cologne asked.

Ranma put her hands on her hip. "I came to make a wager with you Old Ghoul-tcha."

WHACK

"Whaddja do that for?"

"Show respect to your elders boy. Or should I say girl?" Cologne replied.

Ranma rubbed her sore scalp. "Anyway, here's what I'm thinking. Me and Shampoo have another spar. If I can win even with this ribbon on, you hafta remove it and let me handle being with Shampoo MY way-tcha. If I lose, I guess I've hafta give ya what you want."

Shampoo looked like she was mildly thinking it over, gauging Ranma's skills in her female form, while Cologne narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "An intriguing proposal, but before I accept, I want to see something first. Come this way." She led the two teenagers out the back door and into the small open area behind the restaurant. "Before we try any official match, I'd like to see a small demonstration of your abilities right now."

"Why? Afraid you'd lose if you accepted?" Ranma cockily asked.

"On the contrary. I"m afraid _you'll_ lose if we accepted." Cologne answered.

"Huh?"

"Never mind. Just have a friendly spar with Shampoo to prove me right or wrong. Then I'll decide what to do about your challenge." Cologne insisted.

Ranma stretched her arms above her fine. "Fine. I can go for that-tcha."

Ranma and Shampoo stood about three meters apart facing on another, much like back on the log in China some time ago. Shampoo was unarmed this time. Cologne signaled them to begin, and both charged forward. Ranma, still not a fan of fighting against girls, wanted to end this quick and tried a sweep kick towards Shampoo's gut to knock her out. But she missed, overestimating her leg's reach, allowing Shampoo to dodge and narrow the gap with a punch to Ranma's collarbone and followed with a knee jab to her stomach.

Ranma still had all her endurance so she could handle this, but she wasn't used to taking the first hit in a fight anymore. 'How could she do that? I better focus more on fighting than ending this quickly.' Without falling to her knees, Ranma managed to grab Shampoo's arms at this close range and tried to throw her over herself. Shampoo placed her foot on Ranma's stomach and attempted to spring back instead. Ranma did not loosen her grip, so Shampoo went up and over the oni girl, but when Ranma tried to slam her into the ground behind her, Shampoo had enough leverage to land on her feet safely and even attack Ranma from behind.

'She's good. No wonder she won that contest when I met her. But I beat her then so I should be able to beat her now.' Ranma thought, catching herself before she hit the ground face first. She jumped and turned in the air to gain a bit of distance from the purple-haired girl and try a new tactic. Using a favored move of the Saotome style Anything Goes art, she performed a flying kick attack, which would have been better had she actually been able to fly.

Shampoo deflect the kick with one of her own and punched Ranma in the jaw, hoping not to hurt her but wanting to win here.

Ranma fell to the ground this time and ached in getting up on her hands and knees. Cologne came up to her and stood eye to eye with the green-haired girl. "As I thought. You fight as if you're still a man and fail to compensate for your female form's unique needs in a match. You have gotten too used to what this form gives you to fight without those special abilities. Beating you as you are would be an honorless fight, no true victory for us."

Ranma was aghast. "You... just what is it you want? You want me to be with Shampoo but you don't want me to lose in this match?"

"Oh believe me, I want my great-granddaughter to win. But beating you like this would be like beating a person with crutches in a foot race. In order for Shampoo's quest to claim you to mean anything, you have to be able to put up some resistance for her to conquer. Just like how the Kiss of Death requires her to hunt you down, the Kiss of Marriage requires her to get you to submit. An easy victory is... to put it bluntly, not what we want."

Ranma got back to her feet. "So what are you going to do?"

Cologne smiled. "Simple, we'll accept your challenge, but I'll give you two weeks to prepare for it. And I'll teach you a new move. If you cannot train this form to fight without electricity or flight in that time, then you come with us to China. If you can beat her, then I'll release you of that ribbon. Sound fair?"

Ranma thought it over, trying to see if there was a trick to this. "Just what kind of technique?"

"You'll find out after you agree. Rest assured, it is a good one you can learn in that amount of time if you have the talent for it."

Ranma sighed. "Fine, I'll accept."

Cologne's smile widened. "Good, Son-in-law. Come here tomorrow for my training. Your two weeks start tomorrow."


	18. Chestnut Fist

One of the first things students of Anything Goes Martial Arts learn is that if one is honorable, they should never refuse a challenge and if they happen to lose, they should never refuse to uphold their end of the bargain. When looking at the known practitioners of this art, it was hard to say for certain if they actually followed this or not.

Ranma was one of the few who undoubtedly took this principle to heart and would not waver from. What he did not realize was following this to the letter as he tended to do may some day cost him more than he feared to lose if he didn't.

**Chapter 18 Chestnut Fist**

"YOU WHAT?" Everyone but Kasumi shouted when Ranma returned to the Tendo dojo to inform them of what she had done with the amazons.

"I found a way to get back ta normal without marrying Shampoo. Is that what you wanted?" Ranma responded.

"Ranma you idiot!" Akane yelled, but without anger. "Shampoo's been a girl her entire life and since she's an amazon she's got to be used to fighting other girls. You've only got two weeks to learn how to fight like a normal girl and you always say you don't fight against girls. What on earth makes you think this is going to be easy for you?"

"I can learn in that time. I learned to swim in two days so I'm sure I can learn to fight good enough in two weeks-tcha." Ranma declared, not noticing the small wince Akane made at the mentioning of swimming.

"What if you can't?" Akane asked. "What if you lose?"

"I won't." Ranma simply replied.

"You can't guarantee that Ranma." Akane replied back with a little more force. "I know you're tough but you're not invincible. You can't regard every fight like defeat is simply not a possibility for you. Don't you realize that if you lose you'll have to leave here?"

'She's worried about losing him.' Kasumi and Nabiki thought. 'She may not realize it yet, or be ready to admit it, but she does have feelings for him.'

"Have faith in me Akane-tcha." Ranma told the short-haired girl.

"I want to have faith in you Ranma. I'm just worried you have too much faith in yourself." She told the oni girl.

Ranma sighed. "Look Akane, the old ghoul even offered to show me something to even the odds. I can do this."

"Doesn't she want Shampoo to win Ranma?" Nabiki asked. "Aren't you even a little suspicious that she's trying to sabotage you?"

"Of course I am. I know she still wants Shampoo to win and may try to teach me a bad move ta trick me-tcha. But I've been training all my life, I know how to recognize bad moves. C'mon Akane, I can do this-tcha."

The short-haired Tendo girl still did not look any more consoled than she had been before.

* * *

The next day Ranma went over to the Cat Cafe in the morning. She went to the backside as originally planned, where she saw Cologne set up some kindling for a fire and had a dark bag beside her. "Is that yer breakfast Old Ghoul?"

Cologne whacked the green-haired girl on the head. "You of all people shouldn't be giving others such nicknames, Son-in-Law."

Ranma rubbed her sore head. "Whatever. So what are you doing?"

The old woman smiled. "This here is my demonstration of what I am going to teach you in." She opened the bag beside her and pulled out some chestnuts before throwing them into the fire. Then after a few moments she reached in with both hands and rapidly pulled them out. To Ranma's amazement, her hands were completely unburned though the nuts were clearly warm and steaming.

"Impressive-tcha." Ranma said.

"This is the Kachuu Tenchin Amaguriken, often called the Amaguriken for short, or the Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire Fist." Cologne told him. "Whatever you choose to call it, it is a very handy move."

"But all you did was move your hands fast enough to avoid the fire." The green-haired girl replied.

"True, but you are oversimplifying the technique." The old amazon stated. "You thought I only did that, but what your eye couldn't catch was that my hands went in and out of the fire repeatedly. I did not grab all these chestnuts at once, I grabbed them little by little."

Ranma's eyes widened. "So you're saying this technique is a series of rapid punches rather than one quick strike?"

Cologne nodded. "Indeed it is. This will not guarantee you can defeat my granddaughter, but it will at least increase the odds of you doing so."

"And how long does it take to learn this?" Ranma asked.

Cologne smiled and held up a small pair of scissors with onyx black handles. "These scissors are the only thing besides myself that can remove your ribbon. When you can get them from me, your training is complete." Ranma made a swipe for them but Cologne quickly batted her hand away and hid the scissors. On Ranma's hand was a stamp that read 'Rejected'. "Did you honestly think a predictable sneak attack would be fast enough to get by me?"

"It was worth a shot, wasn't it?"

Cologne shook her head. "Your only chance of getting these scissors is to master the Amaguriken. Once you do, then you can remove the ribbon holding you in this form."

Ranma pumped her fist. "I'm on it-tcha."

* * *

"So how was it?" Nabiki asked as Ranma returned home hours later. She had been passing back with a small bag of potato chips at hand when the oni girl strolled in.

Ranma held up her hands, covered in first degree burns. "I've been thru worse-tcha."

"You better get those treated. I'll go get Kasumi."

In no time Kasumi had the first aid kit and was treating Ranma's burns. "How did you get these Ranma?"

"I had to pull chestnuts out of a fire fast enough to not get burned-tcha. Old Ghoul said I did pretty good for my first day."

"Why?" Both Kasumi and Nabiki asked.

"Speed training. She said if I master this I can get a pair of scissors that will cut the ribbon off-tcha."

"Umm, Ranma..." Kasumi started, but stopped when she saw Nabiki give a subtle 'no' head shake that Ranma didn't notice. "Just be careful, ok? You don't want to get any dangerous burns."

"No problem Kasumi."

* * *

Days went by and Ranma had yet to master the technique. Every day she came home with burned hands. "Damn, I wish my body could handle fire like it could lightning." She offhandedly commented one afternoon, lying down on the couch.

"Why aren't you getting ready Ranma?" Akane asked, coming towards her wearing a festive yellow yukata.

"I'm not wearing a kimono-tcha!"

"C'mon, it'll be fun at the festival. And no one will recognize you." Akane told her. Nerima was presently having a small street fair with lots of vendors, snacks, and entertainment offered to people wanting a nice night out.

Ranma was not one of them, and diligently crossed her arms looking away. "I'm not going."

Akane sat down beside her cursed fiancee. "Please Ranma. I'd enjoy it more if you did."

That surprised the green-haired girl and it showed. It wasn't everyday Akane actually wanted to do something public with Ranma. Sure, the tomboy didn't hate Ranma or mistrust her, but Akane often felt a bit defensive about being seen together in public. Their walks to school together were often unavoidable and nothing to make a spectacle out of so Akane paid that no mind. Generally, the only thing she did ask him to do had been go with her to the skating rink about a month ago, and Ranma still wasn't sure why she had wanted that.

"Why?" Ranma asked.

"Because you need to relax and have some fun. And I'll have more fun knowing you're not alone sulking. Please?" Akane asked, using her cute face.

Ranma couldn't resist. "Fine."

In moments Ranma wore a borrowed blue kimono and sandals. "Still feels weird-tcha." She commented as the Tendo's and her father walked with her towards the festival.

"Relax. Don't worry about it." Akane said as she walked next to the literal boy-trapped-in-a-girl's-body.

After some time, it was clear that Ranma was not enjoying herself as much as she tried to let on. For Akane's sake, she pretended to enjoy the games and treats, but the Tendo girls could see thru her false smile.

"Ranma's trying so hard to pretend he's having fun." Kasumi said in sympathy.

"I don't understand it. Why can't he relax for just one night?" Akane asked, concern flooding her voice.

"He's just not comfortable in his girl body Akane." Kasumi told her younger sister. "Before now, his girl body was just something to tolerate or make the best of once in a while at a suitable time. But being trapped in it at all hours of the day, with no control of changing or even using the little perks that originally came with it, I doubt he can be as comfortable as we'd like. We've always been girls so we don't mind it, but Ranma isn't a girl and just wants to feel normal again."

"I know, but I just thought he could be comfortable for one night at least." Akane sadly said.

Kasumi nodded. "I know, but I don't think Ranma wants to get too comfortable. He told me he's afraid that if he does, it's like he's becoming more of a girl then."

"But what's wrong with that? He'll be more understanding of us then and that's a good thing." Akane stated. At this point Ranma was briefly out of her sight.

"True Akane, but Ranma's a boy and was raised as such. From his point of view, being more like a girl means being less like everything he's ever been or hoped to be. I know you want a boyfriend who's not a pervert, but how feminine does Ranma have to be for you to feel safe?"

"I do feel safe around Ranma. I've never thought of him as a pervert. Not even when he tou-" She cut herself off before she accidentally admitted Ranma touched her butt when they first went flying. "Never mind. I just want Ranma to feel better."

Kasumi smiled. "I'm glad. My advice is tell Ranma that even though he doesn't have to like being a girl, he doesn't hate to hate it either and you're there for him in either form."

"Where is Ranma by the way?" Akane asked, looking around for the gender bender now that she noticed she wasn't currently in sight.

Kasumi looked around too. "There he is, by the fish-catching stand."

By now Ranma had been able to catch almost all the small goldfish in tubs for a few excited kids. 'I guess all the speed training is coming in handy after all.' Akane thought as she walked up to her fiancee. "Ranma, that's incredible." She said as Ranma scooped up another pair.

The kiosk runner was less than thrilled. 'If she keeps this up I'm going to run out of stock and business for the night. Better put out my last resort.' "You are pretty good Miss, but if you want a challenge..." He then pulled out a glass tank filled with larger, meaner looking fish. "Try this. You've got to catch all these authentic piranha without missing one or damaging your net. if you fail, you have to return all the fish you've already collected."

"You brought along piranhas? Are you crazy?" Akane yelled at the vendor.

Ranma simply looked at the tank and got an idea. 'There's no way I can catch any of these fish like I could a goldfish. The net would break immediately. The only alternative would be to catch them barehanded, without stopping because of any bites. But... if I could move fast enough that they can't bite me, then it counts as a win. This is just like training for the Amaguriken, but with an element I can handle.'

Ranma rolled up her sleeves. "I'm going for it."

"Ranma, you can't. You could get hurt." Akane said.

Ranma smiled at the short-haired Tendo, the first real smile she had all night. "Trust me Akane, I can do this-tcha."

* * *

Cologne and Shampoo were out enjoying the festival too, taking a break from their restaurant. Shampoo had to admit it was different than the festivals they had back home in Joketsuzoku.

Cologne quickly sensed Ranma coming from behind as they were getting some cotton candy. "Ah, nice to see you out this evening Son-in-law." The elderly woman said, ignoring any odd looks from people wondering why she called the young woman that.

"I think I'm ready to beat you Old Ghoul-tcha." Ranma confidently exclaimed, holding her fists up.

Both Shampoo and Cologne noticed the small bite marks on Ranma's hands and forearms. 'What has he been doing?' "You don't say? Well, I'll be glad to see you show me tomorrow."

"You're here now, so I don't feel like waiting." Ranma said, making a move for Cologne who dodged and hit the strike away.

'That came close, closer than usual, but not enough. Is she trying something here?' Cologne thought. "Ranma, what makes you so certain I even have the scissors on me right now?"

"You wouldn't leave them at home knowing I might come in and take them."

Cologne sighed and reached inside her robes. "I suppose you got me there." She replied as she pulled the scissors out. "But you're still not fast enough to get them from me."

Before Ranma could make a move, Shampoo hugged her. "Want have fun with Shampoo tonight Airen?"

As Ranma struggled to break free Cologne took the opportunity to get out of the area. Fortunately at the same time Akane came up. "Hey! Let go of him!" Akane said before pulling Shampoo off Ranma.

"Stay out of this." Shampoo told Akane.

"You stay out of Ranma's life. He doesn't want you in it."

"Ranma Shampoo's Airen whether you like or not. He meant for me."

"Why don't you ask him what he wants?" Akane yelled.

Shampoo turned to do just that, but saw Ranma was gone. "Huh? Where he go?"

* * *

Ranma was tracking Cologne, who seemed to be leading her towards the haunted house part of the mini-fair, which was actually the nearby bathhouse. 'If she thinks I'm going to be frightened or even slowed down by the decorations, she's gone senile.' Ranma told herself. Truth be told, Ranma was hoping to avoid any black cats here at least.

She caught up to Cologne in no time, but it looked like attacking her hadn't become any easier. Cologne dodged and batted away Ranma's hands like they were flies. Getting a free moment, Cologne jumped on top of a pole in the hot water put there to vent steam for a smoky effect. "You're still too slow boy."

Ranma grinned. "Oh yeah?" She then proudly held up the pair of scissors.

"What?" The old Amazon said, feeling her pockets to see if this was a trick. It apparently was not. Ranma had gotten fast enough to perform the Amaguriken and take the scissors from her.

"Now I get to be a guy again-tcha." Ranma said, raising the scissors to cut the ribbon on her horns.

To her horror, they did absolutely nothing. Not even leave a mark.

"What the? You said-"

"I lied." Cologne cut the oni girl off. "I needed to get you motivated and test your serious skills somehow young man." She said, trying not to enjoy the look of sheer shock Ranma was giving her. "Besides, don't you remember that the entire reason I gave you this training was to fight Shampoo, not me? Why would I give you something to remove your ribbons and thus remove any reason to have that fight in the first place?"

'She's right!' Ranma told her, realization starting to kick in. 'All this time I was worrying she was giving me a bad move, I never stopped to think she was giving me a bad prize.'

"But you did good Son-in-law, and apparently have learned the Kachuu Tenchin Amaguriken ahead of time. Get a little more practice with it in, and you can still have your spar with Shampoo to earn your right to become male again. Just remember what happens if you lose. You come to China with us." Cologne said before disappearing into the misty steam.

* * *

"So what happened?" Akane asked when she found Ranma back out in the streets again, looking down in the dumps.

"I don't wanna talk about it." She answered, then looked a bit brighter. "But now I know, I _can_ win this and be a guy again Akane."


	19. Mousse Arrives

_Sorry for the long wait. I had most of this chapter written when I realized I had skipped something in the storyline that needed to be said first and had to rewrite. I also wish to soothe any worries that this story is dead or on hiatus. It is not nor do I plan on it ever happening._

After being cheated by Cologne, Ranma trained like a mad man. Or rather a mad _woman_. All to win the upcoming fight to earn the right to become her true self again.

After a few days, Ranma needed to take a break and have some fun. So she accompanied Akane out for a walk after putting on socially acceptable clothes.

**Chapter 19: Mousse Arrives**

"Ranma, do you think maybe we should tell the school about your curse yet?" Akane curiously asked.

"Why would I?" Ranma asked back.

"Teachers and faculty have been asking about your absence lately. We've said you have to go out of town for a bit to handle a health issue, but if they don't hear something soon you could be expelled."

Ranma rolled her eyes. "Ooh, I may not be able to go to school anymore. What will I do?"

Akane frowned and poked the green-haired girl in the ribs. "I'm serious Ranma. If you get expelled, then how can you be taken seriously in the future? I mean, let's say you and I get to run the dojo in a few years. If you try to take on students but they hear you never finished high school, why would they think you know what you're talking about?"

"I'd just show them how good I am-tcha."

Akane shook her head. "Ranma, I think even your father has a high school diploma. Do you want people to think you're dumber than him?"

Now that struck a nerve in the younger Saotome. "Fine. If I can't be cured by the end of this week, then I'll... try it." She lamented. "But I ain't wearing a girl's uniform-tcha."

Their walk took them past Furinkan High where some of their classmates were playing soccer after school. One of the players saw the two passerby and called out. "Hey Akane, you know where Ranma is? Cause someone's looking for him."

Both teens stopped and looked at the shouter. "Someone's looking for Ranma? Who?" Akane asked.

"Some Chinese guy wearing white robes. He came here demanding to see Ranma but we told him Ranma hasn't been here for a while. He then left saying he will find Ranma, though he kinda walked into a fence as he left."

Ranam and Akane shared a look. "Wonder what that's all about." Ranma commented.

"Oh, even weirder, he saw a girl and said something about her shampoo, but once he put his glasses on he must have changed his mind." The soccer player added.

Ranma and Akane shared another look. "Shampoo?"

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Akane asked.

"Sadly yes." Ranma replied. "Home, or Cat Cafe?"

A bell ring and a bike running into Ranma's head from behind answered her question for them. "Nihao Airen. Please help Shampoo." The purple-haired Amazon asked sounding more like she wanted a favor than real help.

"What's going on?" Akane asked, equal parts anger at Shampoo for hurting Ranma and curiosity for this yet-to-be-seen newcomer.

"So you are the one who dares to take my Shampoo from me." A new man's voice calmly said with a hint of challenge. Akane looked to see a tall Chinese guy Ranma's age walk up to her. He had long silky black hair, blue eyes, and a white silk outfit resembling a kimono with a black belt, the outfit decorated with square designs in random spots.

"Who are you?" Akane asked, a hint of challenge in her own voice.

Confused by the feminine voice, the Chinese boy pulled from his sleeves a set of large glasses and placed them on. "Oh, a woman. Never mind. I'm looking for a man named Ranma Saotome."

"Oh yeah? What for?" Ranma asked, trying to ignore Shampoo standing a bit too close to her for her liking.

"I am Mousse. I am the man who is to be Shampoo's groom." He said, taking his glasses off again.

'He speaks Japanese pretty well, but why doesn't he keep his glasses on?' Akane asked herself.

Shampoo looked mildly irritated but not truly bothered. "What you talking about? We only friends from child times."

"Mousse, weren't you once spurned by Shampoo?" Cologne asked as she suddenly appeared by Akane and Ranma standing on her cane.

"Where did you come from Old Ghoul?" Ranma asked, heart beating faster from the surprise. Had her oni powers been active she might have electrocuted the elder.

Ignoring the green-haired girl, Mousse stood his ground. "But... but that... was when we were only three!"

"Age makes no difference." Cologne countered, saying it like it was common sense. "It has been decided that this..." Cologne was about to point to Ranma, but hesitated and changed her mind. "That Shampoo's groom has already been selected. You need know no more."

"Have you no ears? Ranma is engaged to AKANE!" Soun shouted thru a megaphone close enough to Cologne to practically make her deaf.

'What's with people suddenly appearing? Is there some kind of beacon that alerts people there's something going on they can butt into?' Ranma asked herself.

"Where is Ranma? I demand to face him myself." Mousse said, ignoring the commotion.

"Fine by me-tcha." Ranma said, mostly because she didn't like backing away from a challenge, not because she had something to prove.

Mousse ignored the comment from the unfamiliar girl because Cologne spoke next. "Ranma is currently unavailable for such a thing. And even if he were you cannot have Shampoo no matter the outcome of the spar."

The myopic male Amazon glared at the matriarch, well, not exactly _at_ her given his bad eyesight, but he definitely meant it for her. Putting his glasses back on, he turned to Soun. "You sir." He said pointing at the mustachioed man. "You say Ranma has a second woman?"

"Second? Ranma is engaged to only my daughter!" Soun insisted.

"Not by our laws." Cologne added much to Soun's chagrin.

"Tell Ranma I have a challenge for him. Face me in a ring tomorrow. If he loses or fails to show up, he must relinquish any claim to your daughter."

"And what if he win?" Shampoo ask. "You go back to China?"

Mousse smiled. "Sure, that sounds fair." He then walked away.

Ranma crossed her arms. "Heh, I can beat the guy easily-tcha."

Shampoo leaned closer. "Be careful Airen. Mousse stupid, but he master of hidden weapon."

"Hidden weapon?" Ranma and Akane repeated.

Cologne nodded. "One of the various fighting styles available to our warriors. Like how a floating swan conceals thrashing feet beneath the water, or a flying bird of prey hides its talons until it attacks its prey, a warrior can conceal various weapons on their person and if effectively talented use them fast enough for them to not even be seen."

"What kind of weapons?" Akane asked.

"Anything and everything, except firearms. Those are forbidden. Much too dishonorable to consider using in a martial arts spar."

Ranma shrugged. "I can handle 'im-tcha. Not like I never fought weapon users before."

"Ranma!" Akane shouted, but without anger. She then looked pleadingly at Cologne. "Please Cologne, take the ribbon off Ranma, for the spar if nothing else."

"And why would I do that? If Ranma cannot win in his female form without his little oni tricks even after my training he deserves to be defeated by someone as feeble as Mousse."

"But Mousse is expecting a boy named Ranma. Not a girl." Akane pointed out.

"True, but he has no idea what Ranma looks like. I'm sure you two can come up with something to do about that. The ribbon remains until I say so." Cologne then pogoed away.

Shampoo walked away smiling and waving. "Good luck Airen. Bye bye."

Akane looked back at her gender-changing fiancee. "Ranma, please don't take this lightly."

"Right now I'm more concerned with how to make this..." She used her hands to indicate her curvy female body. "Look like a boy-tcha."

* * *

The next day the Ranma-Mousse spar was about to be held. The site chosen for convenience was the sparring area in Furinkan field, and spectators and even food vendors from the Cat Cafe were there looking for entertainment and a little profit. Naturally Nabiki had spread knowledge of the fight and set up a little betting pool, and people eager to see Ranma again were hoping to see how much he learned in his absence.

"They're turning this into a carnival." Akane said, surprised by everyone's causal carefree attitude. 'I hope the disguise we came up with will work.'

"Son-in-law is late." Cologne noted.

Mousse meanwhile was mistaking an attendee for Ranma, which required Cologne to intervene and Shampoo to shake her head in annoyance as she watched while offering snacks to buyers.

"Into the ring Mousse!" Ranma called out, trying to mask her voice to sound masculine. Akane, Cologne, Shampoo, and even Nabiki looked at the arriving Ranma, curious and/or hopeful about her appearance despite the ribbons. The fans meanwhile just cheered. Ranma did a flip and landed on her feet, wearing a dark blue kimono with a red obi that was baggy enough to hide her female body. She also wore black shades to cover her eyes and a black wig to cover her green hair. "Sorry to keep you waiting-tcha."

'He can't expect that to work can he?' Nabiki asked herself. The fans meanwhile just asked themselves why Ranma needed so many clothes for a spar, but they seemed convinced it was him and he was normal, so Akane was relieved.

Mousse got into the ring. "So Ranma Saotome, you have come." The two faced off, arms crossed into their sleeves. This time Mousse made sure his glasses were on.

"Shall we begin?" Ranma asked with a smile. "Allow me!" All of a sudden there was a large puff of smoke that seemed to originate from Ranma 'himself', and the smoke was full of streamers, flags on strings, and even a few live rabbits and doves.

"What?" Mousse asked. "What is this?"

Ranma chuckled. "What's the matter Mousse? No more tricks up your sleeves?"

"Tricks?" Mousse looked offended, and took off his glasses so his stare would emphasize his emotions. "You dare to call my techniques tricks?"

A few playing cards harmlessly fell out of Ranma's sleeves. "Why wouldn't I think that? I mean, you're a male and from an Amazon village-tcha. Why would they let you actually learn how to fight? It only makes sense that this hidden weapon business of yours is a mere magic show-tcha." She then waved her arms and flower bouquets popped out of the ends. "Like this."

"Is that what you think?" Mousse asked, eyes closed and representing the urge to laugh. "Then it's time you see for yourself, if my magic show can really cut you in half or not." He then took a stance, where both arms were raised up like wings ready to lift off and his right leg bent up. "The Blow of the Chicken Egg!"

"I probably should have told Son-in-law that we in fact do allow a few men to learn how to fight." Cologne thought out loud.

'Too little, too late.' Akane bitterly thought to the old Chinese woman.

Mousse's hands slipped into his sleeves and he set his right leg down in front of his left, pointing his arms forward with the motion. From his sleeves shot out half a dozen chicken eggs that exploded like bombs when they impacted the ring by Ranma's feet. "Egg bombs?" Ranma asked.

Akane looked at Cologne. "Isn't that against what you said is allowed in hidden weapons?"

Cologne shook her head. "Not at all. Mousse isn't using a firearm, and I never said a word about explosives being forbidden."

Ranma was unfazed and tried a jump kick. "Just another trick."

Mousse blocked with a kick of his own. "Take that back!" He swung his right fist like a swipe hit, and from his sleeve emerged an assortment of weapons on wires. An iron claw, a spear head, a trident head, weighted ends, and even a yoyo. None hurt Ranma, but they did wrap around her and tore her outfit in unimportant places. "As you can see Ranma, my fighting style is not a magician's show. Have you run out of silly tricks?"

Ranam smirked. "Oh I'm just getting warmed up. For my final performance..." She jumped into the air, and another large smoke explosion occured. This one much larger than the last one and brimmed with confetti and pieces of clothing floating down with small objects tied to parachutes.

"He blew himself up?" One watcher asked himself.

"I turn into a woman-tcha." Ranma said, standing there in her normal oni glory, wearing her tiger stripe bikini even. The horns were thankfully hidden by the accursed yellow ribbon, so Ranma didn't bother with her usual white bandanna or the wig to cover her scalp.

Akane was stunned to say the least. "Ranma... why? Just, why?"

"Wow! It looks so real." A few men in the crowd said, convinced this was still part of the show.

Ranma spread her arms. "So what now Mousse? Even dressed as a girl, I'm more than enough for you-tcha." Now she stopped trying to mask her voice.

Mousse was enjoying this much less than the witnesses. "Why you! Disguising yourself like that! Do you want to make a fool of me?"

"Son-in-law is something all right." Colonge commented.

"They really think he just wearing costume?" Shampoo asked, taking a break since the fight started.

Akane now was less bothered. "Good idea Ranma."

Mousse now looked less bothered. "Now I know what you want." He then removed the upper part of his outfit, revealing his muscular body. Many of the women watching were impressed. He took another stance, this time standing sideways with his left leg bent up and his right arm held above his head. For a moment his glasses slipped and he used his middle finger, a deliberate rude gesture, to put them back in place. "Time to put away our tricks and fight with bodies alone."

"Ooh, Mousse angry." Shampoo said.

Akane felt confident and crossed her arms. "In hand to hand combat, Ranma can't lose, even without lightning or flight."

Her point seemed proven valid when Mousse started making jabs with his fists and Ranma was effectively dodging them. In a brief moment when he stopped, Ranma came forward. "Kachuu Tenchin Amaguriken." She started throwing dozens of punches in a matter of seconds and kept going.

Cologne and the audience were both impressed. "Not bad. He's gotten better since the festival night."

"But if Ranma stays like a girl, he's going to be in trouble." Tofu said to Genma, currently in tiger-cow form which had been overlooked for the sake of the fight right now. By now the doctor was informed of both Saotome curses and what they entailed.

Akane overheard the doctor's thoughts. "Huh? What do you mean?"

At the same time Ranma had to stop and Mousse backed away, covered in bruises and his glasses were broken. "Damn you Saotome!" The Chinese boy said as he discarded the glasses.

"Like you really use those things that much." Ranma stated.

Mousse jumped to perform a kick, and Ranma did the same. Ranma was expecting to make the better hit, but she made no hit at all.

"That's what I mean Akane." Tofu said, pointing to the duo during the brief moment they were still in the air.

Akane saw exactly what he was talking about. Mousse hit Ranma in the face but Ranma's foot stopped a few inches from Mousse's own.

"A woman's limbs are naturally shorter than a man's. My training has made Son-in-law better used to fighting in his female form, but since he hasn't yet faced a male opponent more fit than his rotund father in the meantime, he likely overlooked this fact."

Akane looked worried. "Ranma, you can work around this. Please."

Mousse landed on his feet, but Ranma landed on her right side a little hurt. Mousse crossed his arms. "If you wish to keep the other woman, shed this disguise and fight man to man." He added a high kick with the end, aiming for Ranma's front and chin. He missed her chin, but Ranma heard and felt a rip in her bra.

'He's good, but can I beat him as a normal girl?' Ranma asked herself, ignoring the damaged top which fell off her chest. Until the hooting and hollering of aroused teens drew her attention and she covered herself. "Hey that was my only top-tcha!"

"Wait! Are those real?" One boy asked.

"They can't be. Ranma's not a real woman." A different boy said.

"But that sure looks convincing." A girl added.

Mousse kept doing a few more kicks, and it looked like he was aiming for her bottom too. Ranma was too concerning with avoiding the strikes and protecting her modesty to fight back. 'How is he doing this?' She then noticed a glint off the end of his shoes. "Wait, a needle on your shoe? I thought you said fight with bodies alone-tcha."

Mousse scoffed with a light laugh. "For masters of hidden weaponry like me, our weapons _are_ our bodies."

Akane was mad. "You dirty cheater! You try to act noble but you're not doing anything different, just trying to catch your opponent off guard."

He gave her a dry look as best he could without glasses. "Isn't that what martial artists do? Even in this country?"

In the brief pause, Ranma came back for a second barrage of the amaguriken, even though it exposed her chest. Akane got into a duffle bag and pulled out a spare tank top, keeping a spare set of pants nearby just in case. Tofu came up to her. "Hey Akane, why is Ranma fighting as girl instead of a boy?"

"It's not by choice Dr. Tofu. That old woman there," gesturing to Cologne who watched the fight with interest, "trapped Ranma in that form and won't release him until he satisfies some goal she has or marries Shampoo. See those ribbons? They're what's locking Ranma and rendering her powerless and only she can remove them."

"Ah. That is a tough situation to get out of." Tofu said. 'Too bad it wasn't something like a pressure point that could be countered. That I could handle, but magic ribbons, I'm not sure what to do there.'

The amaguriken barrage ended, and Mousse looked pretty worn out. Sad news is so did Ranma. "You're good. Better than I gave you credit for." Mousse said as he stood up. Then he turned around, surprising everyone, and rose his left hand above his hand with his right hand on his hip. He then performed a jump kick and a sweep kick at the same time. "Ostrich Kick!" Ranma jumped out of the way.

"Ha! An opening." Ranma said when Mousse's back was turned and close to her. She performed a headbutt to his spine, and her concealed horns hit the back of his kidneys, though they did not pierce the skin. Mousse groaned in pain, but he threw down a smoke bomb, covering the area. 'Clever, he can't see but neither can I.' Her eyes were irritated and tears started to involuntarily flow. 'Tear gas?'

A few of the audience had to back away from the tear gas cloud covering the ring. Akane threw in the tank top. "Take this Ranma."

Ranma placed the top on herself, calmed herself, and listened for her opponent. 'I hear no footsteps. That must mean...'

"Hawk Talons!"

"Ranma watch out!" Akane shouted.

She got on her hands and thrust her feet up, making herself as narrow as possible. She felt her feet connect to flesh. 'Eh, figures. Standard rule of aerial combat, if you can't heard footsteps, your opponent isn't on the ground.'

The smoke cleared and showed Ranma had avoided Mousse's claws shoes by placing herself between his intended points of impact and kicked his chin when he came down. Mousse was dazed but not out, so she added another kick to get him back then did one more amaguriken, though this was the last one she had strength for.

When it ended, Mousse did not get back up, and the match was declared over.

Satisified, Ranma came up to Cologne. But before she could say anything, Akane surprised her with a hug. "Congratulations Ranma."

The oni girl blushed heavily and froze up. "Uhh... thanks Akane?" She then looked at the Amazon elder and got more certain. "Well Old Ghoul, was that a good enough display of me using your training? Can ya finally take this damn ribbon off?"

"I admit it was impressive Son-in-law, but alas not good enough. A real test would be you fighting me or Shampoo, not this boy. So no, not yet."

Ranma looked so angry it was like she would conduct electricity even with the ribbon on. "Dammit! Get this thing off me-tcha!"

"No."

Before more could be said, it started to rain and Shampoo became a ghost cat again. Despite her weariness from the fight, Ranma still ran away scared, with Akane running after her.


	20. Shark Fist

_Special thanks to Anthony1l for pointing out a few spelling errors in previous chapters which have now been corrected._

Word about Ranma's curse ended up known to the students and faculty of Furinkan after the spar with Mousse. It kind of became inevitable. Thanks to the ribbon, a demonstration to prove it was impossible, but Genma was able to step up and provide one instead.

The acting principal, since the real one was away on an extended business trip, decided to allow Ranma to continue but had to make up for several missed tests and subject, and thus required many after-school sessions to get caught up. Which took time out of her training and irritated the heck out of the gender changer._  
_

**Chapter 20: Shark Fist**

Once Ranma was finished, the Tendo's and Saotome's decided to go to the beach for a day. Everyone was in their swimsuits except for Genma who was in his tiger-cow form, much to the wonder of some people around them. Ranma was wearing a yellow one piece girls swimsuit that said 'Boy on the chest in black, as if it would prove something. Soun wore a red and white striped old fashioned attire. Akane wore a dark blue one piece with thin yellow horizontal stripes over the whole thing. Kasumi wore a soft teal, almost white one piece with a low cut on her back. Nabiki wore a black bikini with yellow edges and straps.

'Normally, I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a girl's swimsuit like this. But I guess my oni form's choice of clothing helped me learn to tolerate it at least.' Ranma thought to herself as she sipped on a soft drink. She glanced at Akane who was sunbathing next to Nabiki but looking at the water forlornly. "Hey Akane, wanna go swimming?"

The short-haired Tendo looked hesitant to answer. "I... can't." She struggled to admit.

"Can't what?" Ranma asked.

"I can't swim. I never learned how."

Ranma was surprised. "You never learned?" Akane sadly nodded. Ranma looked at Kasumi and Nabiki. "What about you two?"

"Oh we can. We had lessons." Kasumi answered.

Nabiki turned to the green-haired girl. "We all did, but Akane could never learn how to float or get anywhere in water. She earned the nickname Hammer Girl because she swam like one."

Akane got up and walked away, trying to hide her tears.

Ranma instinctively got up to follow her, and caught up to her away from where their families could hear them talking. "Akane? You okay?"

Tempted to yell, Akane resorted to sighing. "Not really Ranma. It's just... I really want to know how to swim. Every year I get a new bathing suit to try and look nice, but as soon as I get in the water... I sink like a stone."

"If you want help, all you had to do was ask-tcha." Ranma replied. "I may not be able to fly right now, but I can float."

Akane looked hopeful and happy. "Thank you Ranma. But... let's try somewhere where people aren't watching. I'd feel better if others weren't watching."

Ranma nodded. "Just to warn you, you most likely won't get it right away-tcha."

Akane smirked. "Well if you can help me swim successfully before the end of the day, I'll personally make you whatever you want for dinner tonight." One of the only perks about Ranma being trapped in his oni form was that she could still eat Akane's cooking.

Ranma smiled. "Great motivator-tcha."

With that, the two walked down the beach looking for an empty place. Before they got to see if there even was one, they came across a rather unexpected sight. "Shampoo?"

The purple-haired Amazon was sunbathing on a collapsible chair wearing a one piece dark blue swimsuit that had an open slit on each side. "Oh, nihao Airen and Violent Girl. What a surprise."

"Why are you here?" Akane asked.

"Is free beach, no?"

"Yeah, but I thought you'd be back in Nerima."

"Didn't come to Japan to just work."

"Besides, there's no beach back home." Cologne said showing up on her staff wearing a summer version of her robes. "Closest thing to that is a riverbed or lake shore. Let us enjoy ourselves a bit."

"I'm just glad you're not wearing a swimsuit-tcha." Ranma stated.

"I'll have you know I was quite the looker when I was your age. Where do you think Shampoo gets her good looks from? Though sadly I must admit Nature blessed her more than it did me at her age."

Both Ranma and Akane struggled not to imagine what Cologne may have looked like when she was in her teens, mostly because it was hard to picture anything but the short wrinkled woman she was now. Sensing their discomfort, Cologne grinned and silently laughed. "Well since you're here Son-in-law, want to try the fight against Shampoo now and be done with it?"

Ranma smiled. "You be-" But she stopped herself and looked at Akane. "Sorry Old Ghoul, but I've already got plans-tcha. Maybe next time."

Cologne wasn't sure what to say, though Akane smiled. She was more than a little flattered that her fiancee would choose helping her learn to swim than deal with his own problem right away.

The two went into the shallow part of the water where Ranma tried to see what skill level Akane was already at. Apparently Akane had a problem keeping her head above her feet when in water and she tended to flail around rather than kick to the surface.

"Akane don't swallow the water-tcha!" Ranma told her, lifting her fiancee out of the sea before she drowned.

Cologne and Shampoo watched. "Those two are getting too close. We need to do something about it."

"What you have in mind Grandmother?" Shampoo asked.

"Obviously persuasion alone isn't enough to get Son-in-law to come to us. Perhaps you need to reinforce your personal appeal to him more. Sadly you can't go into the water to do that, unless we order some products from Jusenkyo once we get back to the cafe. One thing you can do now is show a tender side to him when he's hurt."

"You plan on hurting him?" Shampoo asked.

"Just enough to give you a chance to nurse him back to health and show your tender side. We just need to get that girl out of the area so she doesn't usurp your chance." Cologne clarified.

Meanwhile, Ranma and Akane were still in the water blissfully unaware of what the Amazons were planning. Akane, while terrified of drowning despite their being in the shallow end, was reassured that Ranma would keep her from doing so. "Now Akane, just lay on your back like you're on a bed, but with your arms and legs out-tcha." Ranma coached.

Akane did as told while she felt Ranma's arms supporting her under the water. "Like this?"

"Yes. Now breathe normally and evenly, and try not to move too much."

"What exactly will this do?" Akane asked.

"You need to learn to walk before you run, and you need to learn to float before you swim." The aquatransexual explained. She then took her arms away, and Akane sank under before reemerging coughing.

"Why can't I do this?" She loudly asked herself.

"Just relax. Try to enjoy it rather than struggle to make it work-tcha."

Akane tried to relax. She tried to let the water support her rather than pull her down. She tried to not give into her fear. Akane never told anyone this, but deep down she was actually kind of afraid to swim. When she was too young to start school, she nearly drowned in the furo before her mother pulled her out. After that, she did not acquire a downright phobia of water, but when in water she reflexively tensed up and lost a lot of her coordination in a sort of mini-panic. This was something she wanted to cure herself of, but it was apparently easier said than done.

'You can do this. Ranma will not let you drown. Just like Mom, he's there to support me. I am not afraid.' She told herself with closed eyes, but she opened them when she felt Ranma start to pull her. "Ranma?"

"No time Akane. I see a shark fin-tcha."

"A shark?" Akane almost shouted, tensing up but now she was in shallow water and got to her feet. Looking out, she did see a shark fin circling around. But that wasn't all she saw. "Wait! Is that the old woman out there?"

Ranma looked out and saw Cologne was in the water trying to swim away from the shark, and apparently it was a big one. Instinctively she shot out into the water to go help the elder in whatever way she could. Akane did nothing to stop her; Cologne was the only one who could return Ranma to normal and even if she wasn't it was just wrong to leave someone to this kind of death.

Shampoo came up to Akane. "Go get family. Maybe they help if things go bad. I'll watch here." Akane quickly nodded and left, leaving Shampoo to stand on the shore and watch since she couldn't enter the water without transforming.

It looked like Cologne wasn't going to escape the shark on her own, but she wasn't scared. She knew she could use this shark to her advantage thanks to her Shark Fist training. That was the plan. 'Son-in-law will come to my aide and the shark will give him some treatable injuries, while I prevent the shark from doing anything worse. After that, Shampoo will nurse him back to health and a bond should spark between them that will grow with future nourishment.'

The shark had already been hit with pressure points on its head to influence its behavior, so she knew it would threaten her but not actually attack her. Heck she could even use its dorsal fin as a foothold in a fight if she wanted to, something only someone trained in the Shark Fist could accomplish.

The Shark Fist was one of the few 'forgotten' fighting styles the Joketsuzoku had. The tribes of the present day were now completely land-locked, but millennia ago there had been a tribe that lived on the coast of China. They were ultimately eliminated by the Ming Dynasty with survivors fleeing inland seeking refuge with the original tribes, who escaped the empire along with the Musk tribes. The coastal tribe annexed into the inland tribe and shared their arts, some incorporating but some not. The Shark Fist fighting style being one of them, kept around mostly out of honor to the lost tribe and the Amazon's history.

Cologne herself only learned it because in her youth she traveled around and spent some time by the ocean. She had been curious about the Shark Fist and seeked to see if it truly worked or was a mere legend. After all, the principle of the style was one could take control over one of Nature's most savage beasts and bend them to their will while fighting on the sea with the sea. She wondered who created this and why, but all she could learn was if it worked.

Ranma was about to find out.

Cologne led the shark to Ranma, and got close enough to hit a point to be completely reassured that the predatory fish would only wound, not gore the young man-turned-young girl. The shark rushed past her towards its new target, mouth wide open.

Ranma saw she was the new intended prey of the large fish and briefly panicked, allowing it to get closer. Ranma reflexively punched the shark in the mouth, hurting her hand from the hard body and sharp scales of the shark. Nonetheless, the fish was redirected away momentarily and circled around. Ranma spun to avoid another bite and tried an amaguriken attack on the gills, hoping this would have some effect. Too bad the only effects were very sore fists and a very mad shark.

Floating nearby, Cologne got worried. 'Oh no, his fighting back like this is only going to get the shark mad and reverse any neural control I implemented. Son-in-law is about to become fish food... unless I get her out of the way.' Seeing no other option, she swam for the shark and climbed onto it's back. Charging her ki while borrowing a bit from her ride, she thrust both her fists into the water. "Shark Fist." She called out as she created a shark-shaped projectile made of sea water, aimed right at Ranma.

Ranma was caught completely by surprise and hit by the attack, which sent her out of the water and towards the shore like Cologne intended. What she didn't intend was for Shampoo to be in the same direction and to get hit by the water too.

"What was that?" Ranma asked she soon recovered, then froze up, feeling something very cold on her back that wasn't water.

"Meow?"

Ranma screamed, and in her shock Bakeneko-Shampoo tightened her grip. Unable to get her off, Ranma ran heedlessly, reaching back into the water for a time. Not a good idea, because Shampoo's ghost cat form only got colder in water and frost started to form on Ranma's backside. So she left the water and ran up and down the beach, trying to get Shampoo to let go.

Akane came back with the others, Genma still as a tiger-cow, and saw the commotion. "Ranma!" Akae called out, hoping to catch her attention. "What's going on?"

"The shark's still out there." Nabiki pointed out, holding her hand over her eyes to look out at sea. "The old woman looks like she's riding it."

"She can ride it?" Akane asked in disbelief. 'Must be luck. No martial artist would train themselves to be able to do that on purpose... right?'

"We must soothe Ranma before he gets too afraid." Kasumi reminded everyone.

Genma got out in front of his gender-bending son in an effort to stop her running. Big mistake, for in Ranma's ailurophobic state of mind all she saw was the tiger part of Genma's cursed form. And to make matters worse, Genma chose to do this when Ranma had no momentum to get out of the way and plowed face-first into the tiger-cows chest. The impact didn't do anything to Genma's balance but Shampoo finally let go and fell backwards onto the sand.

"Rawr."

"Uh oh. Stand back. This could get bad." Akane warned.

Genma was the first to step away, recognizing the sign right away. Ranma was now in the Cat Fist state of mind, standing on all fours and looking at them all.

'Got to give her a target to vent at.' Akane thought, then saw a stray stick on the beach. 'Worked when Kuno tried it.' She quickly picked it up and threw it into the water. "Go get it Ranma." Captivated by the moving target, Ranma jumped after it and ended up in the water.

Cologne was trying to reassert control over the shark, but even with her skill the splash Ranma created drew its attention and it went right for her. 'I better get Son-in-law out of the water again.' She readied another water missile and the shark dove under the surface to attack Ranma.

The Tendo's, Genma, and Shampoo watched from the shore, praying that Ranma would get out of this alive. There was no longer something to see on the surface, making everyone get worried. Akane's heart was pounding in her ears. 'Ranma...'

Suddenly there appeared to be an explosion in the water, with sea water, fish, and even a single small octopus flying everywhere. The watching group had to shield their eyes from the splatter as they got wet and hit with a couple of fish. Everything just passed thru Shampoo's ghost body though. When it stopped, everyone looked around, their eyes immediately settling on a very unexpected sight.

Ranma sat there on the shore perched like a cat, with the shark held firmly in her jaws, someone not being unbalanced by the giant prize. The shark itself was scratched up and actually looked frightened to the point of tears. Not only that, it even looked like it lost a little weight all of a sudden.

Ranma saw Shampoo and must have assumed this cat wanted to steal her catch, for she growled, dropped the shark(which immediately tried to scurry back to the sea), and looked ready to attack Shampoo. And while Shampoo's cursed form was a ghost, her cat side perceived a serious threat.

"Ranma! That's enough!" Akane called out, wanting the oni girl to stop before things got out of hand. Ranma saw her, and decided to pounce. Rather than try to dodge, Akane remained put and held her arms out, as if to catch her. Good idea, for Ranma as expected landed safely on Akane who sat down and started petting the purring nuzzling girl. "Nice kitty, nice kitty."

"Wow, she's calm." Nabiki said, surprised a lioness like Ranma could be domesticated so easily.

"They look nice together, don't they?" Kasumi the eternal optimist mused.

Cologne landed, or at least made herself known, and was huffing like she had just been thru a hard work-out. "So, Son-in-law knows the Cat Fist. No one's given me such trouble in fifty years." 'But how did he learn it? Is he connected to that lecherous thief Happy who stole information on the Cat Fist from us long ago?'

"You already caused enough trouble by attracting that shark and putting Ranma in danger. Do you intend to fight now too?" Akane irritably asked. Ranma growled additionally.

"No. On the contrary, I will avoid a fight here, and do Son-in-law a service. I will remove the ribbon for him, no contest needed or price required."

Everyone, especially Akane and Shampoo, were surprised to hear that. "Seriously?"

Cologne nodded. "The Cat Fist is a dangerous thing to face, even for an Amazon. I will not subject Shampoo to fighting someone who can use that when she herself can become the very thing that triggers it. It would be very unwise and Son-in-law would be likely to win anyway. So I will give him his earned price."

"Good. Do it now." Akane said.

The Amazon elder shook her head. "I'd rather wait until he's in his right mind first. There's no way I'm risking him use lightning with the Cat Fist."

'True, though that would be cool to see.' Akane told herself.

* * *

At the inn the Tendo's had checked into to avoid traveling at night, Ranma was calmed and awakened from her feline mentality. After that, she was told Cologne's decision and was quite pleased to hear it.

"This does not mean I've given up on trying to get you and Shampoo together." The old woman clarified. "I still intend for the law to be honored. This just means I've decided the current method is improper and you've earned the privilege to be single a bit longer."

"Whatever. Just get this thing off me-tcha." Ranma stated.

Cologne reached up, and untied the ribbon from Ranma's oni horns. Kasumi already had some warm water available, and poured it gently over the oni girl. Right away Ranma returned to his normal male form, wearing his black combat pants and a white tank top.

"Finally, I'm me again." He said, glad to hear his male voice too.

Akane smiled and wanted to hug her fiancee, but a now-human Shampoo beat her to it. "Is great Ranma man again. Want date Shampoo now?"

Akane turned red from rage and tore the purple-haired Chinese girl off Ranma. "Get out of here!"

"You want fight?" Shampoo challenged, both girls standing off to each other, sparks flying between their eyes.

"Not here you don't!" Nabiki shouted. "I am not getting kicked out of here because of you two. Get your panties out of a wad and save it for Nerima."

With that, everyone settled for enjoying some watermelon and watching a firework display. Ranma had both Akane and Shampoo next to him, given each other territorial looks, but he was in too good a mood to notice.


	21. Closer Together

Now that Ranma was male again, he was able to go back to school regularly, much to his displeasure. Part of it was because he had to pay attention to the boring stuff again, but the bigger reason was virtually everyone, except Kuno, insisted on seeing his curse for themselves.

It took a lot of water and explaining, both to and from Ranma, but he had convinced Furinkan's students that his curse was legitimate. Most of the men sympathized with him, saying they would have hidden the curse too if they had one. The women were a bit offended at Ranma's behavior and told him he shouldn't have treated having a female body as something to be ashamed of.

**Chapter 21: Closer Together**

Akane defended him by asking them one simple question. "If you had a curse that turned you into a man, would you have been any more eager to let others know?"

Ranma had once asked her a very similar question when they first went ice-skating, and Kasumi asked her something similar when he was locked in his cursed form. It really stuck with Akane since. For years, Akane had been quick to assume, to judge, to criticize any person or situation that made her uncomfortable. In short, she had a habit of jumping to conclusions based solely on her own instant interpretation of what she saw, often not having the patience or interest to hear any opposing claims. When Ranma asked her what she would do in his place, it was the first time in a long time she had really tried to see things from another's point of view rather than just her own.

Since then, Akane was trying not to judge Ranma so much. She wanted to understand him more, see what he thought of things, rather than just assume she already knew. So far things were working out fine.

But ultimately, Ranma did not really enjoy his day at school.

"I swear the last time I was this wet I was swimming across the Sea of Japan." Ranma commented while he and Akane walked home after school. "I still feel wet."

"At least they won't force you to wear a uniform to school because of your curse." Akane said to reassure him. The faculty had at first pressed for him to wear a uniform since his clothes were affected by the curse, but it was proven futile since regular clothes couldn't really be comfortably worn under a uniform, meaning Ranma if wet would wear a bikini regardless if he wore a uniform or not. "And if someone gets frisky with you, you can fly away or electrocute them."

"Like with Kuno?" Ranma asked.

Akane giggled. "Exactly. Now that you mention it, I wonder how he's going to take this. I don't remember seeing him today for once. At least someone will tell him soon."

"You think he'll listen?" Ranma asked. "I mean, how many times did you tell him to leave you alone and he wouldn't listen?"

Akane briefly looked worried. "You don't think he's going to ignore the entire student body telling him you and 'the green-haired girl' are the same person right?"

The two arrived home and Kasumi was there to greet them. "Welcome home Akane, Ranma. Oh Ranma, this came for you in the mail." She handed him a beige envelope.

He opened it and saw a letter. 'Ranma, I've been training in the mountains so I can properly defeat you at least once. Meet me in your school's yard this Saturday if you have any honor at all. Ryoga.'

Akane looked it over. "The guy does not know how to let go of a grudge does he? He may even end up like that dead spirit in 'The Grudge' if he keeps this up. Hey wait, this was dated a week ago. The deadline's past."

"So what?" Ranma asked. "I bet he's still trying to find Nerima, probably from Sapporo knowing his luck. There's no rush on my part to be there."

Ranma was proven right when it was Wednesday of next week that Ryoga finally found his way back to Nerima. But before he could reach Furinkan, the old ladle lady got to him. And apparently, she was too absorbed in washing the asphalt to notice a stray infant on the sidewalk.

"Oh great. Where the hell can I get some water?" The now oni-infant Ryoga asked himself. As he tried to take off, he saw a shadow approach him from behind.

"What this?" Shampoo asked, kneeling down to get a closer look. She quickly saw the green hair and tiger stripe apparel. "Oni child? Got curse? Like Airen?"

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Ryoga asked.

"Want some hot water?" Shampoo asked and Ryoga nodded. Shampoo picked up the dropped backpack and shirt. "Follow Shampoo." She led him to the Cat Cafe.

Cologne quickly saw Shampoo's company. "You found a stray child?"

"Who?"

"Is cursed Grandmother, like Airen." Shampoo replied.

"Who are you people?" Ryoga asked.

"Just visitors in a foreign land trying to get business done." Cologne answered before getting some hot water, for no reason other than to see who this new victim of Jusenkyo was.

"You know Airen? You got almost same curse." Shampoo asked Ryoga.

"Who the heck are you talking about?" Ryoga asked. 'Japanese clearly is not this girl's first language.'

"Do you know a young man named Ranma Saotome?" Cologne asked, hot water in hand.

Ryoga got mad at hearing the name of his rival. "That bastard is why I'm like this! I rue the day he was born."

Cologne frowned. "Well, in that case maybe I won't give you this water."

"What? Why?"

"I have plans for him, so why would I support someone who has plans of their own that conflict with mine?"

"I don't care about your plans, only mine." Ryoga declared.

"Likewise." Cologne replied, unfazed completely by his claim. Cologne ended up giving him the hot water anyway. "Fine, then take your water and be done here."

The oni child took it and used it to become his teenage human self. He was shirtless, but he had learned to pack a spare with him thanks to his curse. Mumbling his version of gratitude he turned to leave.

An hour later while Cologne was watching a Japanese soap opera, Shampoo came to her. "Strange man still not leave."

The amazon elder went out to see Ryoga in the hall looking around. "Where is the door out of here?"

"You can't be serious." Cologne said, exasperated by his ineptitude.

* * *

Ranma was walking back home after a visit from Tofu, just to confirm there had been no changes or damages from being stuck in his cursed form for so long.

"So far nothing looks wrong or irregular, so I'd say you're as healthy as ever. Though I do worry that maybe your body isn't as used to testosterone as much anymore. The hormonal implications of your curse still intrigue me. But anyway, you've got nothing to worry about." Tofu told him. "Oh, and before you go, I was given some eels by a customer. I know Mr. Tendo likes eel so could you take some? I've got more than I need."

So now Ranma was strolling around peacefully walking on a fence carrying a bowl of water containing two live eels.

"Ranma prepare to die!" Ryoga shouted, pouncing at him armed with his umbrella to hit him from behind.

"'Bout time you showed up Ryoga. Maybe you should write your challenges a week in advance." Ranma commented as he dodged without dropping his cargo.

"I gave you an extra week of life. You should be grateful." The lost boy said as the two landed and stared each other down. Or rather he stared down Ranma who was just staring at him.

'Look at him trying to act like he didn't get lost. Akane may have a point about him being a sore loser.' Ranma thought briefly.

"Now die!" Ryoga declared as he charged forward, trying to punch Ranma into unconsciousness.

Ranma was having a bit of difficulty in dodging the fists without dropping the eel. "Hold it! I have to deliver this!"

"Is that so? Well then, if it's removed you can fight unhindered can't you!" Ryoga replied while still striking, adding a few sweep-hits into his moves. When he added a kick, Ranma nimbly dodged by jumping over it and landing on his left hand, right hand still holding the eel container. "Stop squirming!"

Ranma went right in his face with his own. "Hmm... you're getting slow Ryoga."

This caught the lost boy off guard and briefly off balance. But fortunately for him Ranma did not attack, leaving him free to. "How dare you mock me!"

Moving the glass bowl to his left hand, Ranma used his right to deflect Ryoga's punch and hit him in the jaw. Nothing bad, just a stun attack. "You really _are_ slow."

'This can't be.' Ryoga thought as he fell backwards.

"Ranma?" Akane, who just happened to be passing thru wearing a sundress and bag at her side containing a tennis racket, asked, seeing him fight with Ryoga. Ryoga saw her just moments before he saw he was about to fall into a fountain. Luckily Ranma reached out and caught his nose so he stopped falling and gained some leverage by placing his feet on the fountain edge. "So he finally showed up?"

"Yep. Strange thing is all that training he bragged about didn't seem to help him at all." Ranma told her as Ryoga waved his arms around, hoping to get out of this uncomfortable position.

Ryoga then did a flip-kick maneuver to get out of Ranma's grasp and land somewhere dry. "What the hell were you doing just then?"

"Did you _want_ to turn into a baby oni again?" Ranma asked.

"Our fight isn't over."

"What fight? You didn't lay a hand on me." Ranma responded.

Ryoga lunged at his rival, but he wasn't expecting Akane to intercept and kick him in the face, sending him flying without being an oni. "Stop picking on Ranma you jerk!" They didn't see where he landed. "You okay Ranma?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I was never in trouble. It's weird though, for someone who's been training in the mountains, he was too slow to actually hit me."

"Maybe you've just gotten faster." Akane suggested as the two walked back home side-by-side.

The pigtailed boy smiled a bit. "Now that would be nice."

"It makes sense, since you did get training from Shampoo's great-grandmother so much. Ryoga's better off not trying to challenge you anymore. Doesn't he have anything better to do than strike and beat you for something you've already apologized for?" Akane asked.

Ranma shrugged. "I guess for him an apology just isn't enough."

"It better be, because I'm not going to let him keep trying to kill you just so he can finally feel good about himself." Akane stated firmly.

Ranma smiled at her in a way that made her blush but not feel uncomfortable. "I'm a big boy Akane, I can fight my own battles."

Akane took his free hand into one of her own, making him turn red with her. "Ranma, am I your fiancee or not?"

"Uh... umm..." He fumbled over his words. "If I have to choose one of the Tendo's, it would be you."

Akane smiled in a way that almost made her glow and sparkle to Ranma. "You helped me with the Hentai Horde Ranma. Let me help you with those after you too."

Not sure what to say, he just nodded. But of course, as a Saotome, Ranma's mouth often operated on its own. "Man you look cute right now."

Akane smiled even brighter and her eyes were flooded with emotions Ranma couldn't identity. Before he could react, she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders before pulling him down into their first true kiss.

Like any male in his position, Ranma did not know what to do. Fortunately, if there was one good thing Genma installed in his son it was how to learn and adapt quickly to change. Before the shock had fully worn off, he decided the best thing to do was kiss her back. He couldn't wrap his arms around her due to the eel bowl, but he did use his free arm to hold her in place like she did him.

They parted for air and just stared at each other, not sure what to say. Maybe nothing needed to be said, they both considered.

"So does this mean you want us to be engaged?" Ranma asked, not quite ruining the moment but returning a bit of reality to it.

Akane thought over her answer very careful. "Let's just say that even though I'm not ready to be married just yet, I think now I'm willing to consider that we can be in time. Play your cards right mister and it might even be before college." 'Or graduation.' She added in her head, not willing to admit that timeline just yet.

Ranma blushed and scratched the back of his head, trying not to blurt out something to ruin the moment. "Umm... we should get home before dinner's ready."

Akane nodded, finding his embarrassment quite cute. Taking his free hand once he was done scratching his head with it, she walked home with him, thinking about what their future might entail. 'Akane Saotome, it does have a nice ring to it.'

Both were unaware that the whole time they had been talking, they were being watched. 'Hmm... this certainly complicates things. Emphasizing Shampoo's appeal to Son-in-law will have to wait, for now I should try putting a wedge in between him and Shampoo's rival. Of course, I'll need a patsy to avoid any worse-case-scenario, and I think I know who to use.'

* * *

When Ranma and Akane got home, Soun was quite pleased to see Tofu's gift. Eel was one of his favorite foods and Kasumi knew a good recipe for serving it she rarely got to use.

"Hey boy, summer vacation is coming up. You ready to go on a little training trip for a week?" Genma asked his son as they sat down to eat.

Summer vacation in Japan works differently than it does in America. For one, it happens in the months of July and August, and doesn't include June. And it also does not separate year levels either. The break between year levels in Japanese schools takes place in March and early April. In Japan, summer vacation was basically a two-month long spring break. Even so, it was still a welcome break from studies and homework.

"Sounds good to me. Usual terrain?" Ranma asked. 'Usual terrain' meant the places he and Genma most commonly trained at, which were forested mountains with sources of fresh water so they could live off the land and train without worrying about other people or rules getting involved.

Genma nodded and Soun smiled. "If you're going Akane should probably go with you too."

"Why?" Akane asked, more curious than against it.

"It'll give you and Ranma more time together and you could help out with the cooking. You know how much Ranma enjoys what you make." Soun answered, trying not to taste bile at the memory of oni-Ranma shoving Akane's toxic meals down her throat with gusto. It was like watching someone guzzle down bleach and ask for seconds.

Kasumi smiled. "And maybe you'll have some time to work out with him and make something his boy form enjoys eating too." 'As long as her ingredients and means of cooking are limited so are her chances of ruining anything she makes.'

"And what am I supposed to eat?" Genma asked.

"Can't a grown man like you make your own food?" Akane asked.

"I can. I just don't like to." The bald martial artist answered.

"Then suck it up or eat what I give you."

"Maybe this trip was a bad idea."

"Nonsense Mr. Saotome. You'll have fun while you're out there and you'll manage. If nothing else I'm sure your tiger-cow form can forage for something." Kasumi said, pretty much sealing the deal.

Genma groaned for his poor stomach and Akane smiled before leaning into Ranma a bit, showing him she was glad for this.

Nabiki saw this and decided to have a bit of fun. "So are you two going to being sharing a tent? Because if you are you better get some condoms first." The two turned bright red and Aakne separated herself from Ranma, but Nabiki wasn't quite done yet. "And if you are, you might want to confirm what size works best for Ranma too first."

Never before had Akane been so tempted to use her mallet on her own family like this. She didn't, but the temptation was there.

* * *

"Damn you! Damn you Ranma!" Ryoga shouted later that night as he took out his frustration on a poor wall. Which by the way cracked with each hit.

"So, you keep being made a fool out of by Ranma." Cologne said, perched on her crane as soon as he stopped hitting concrete. Ryoga turned to see her but said nothing. "I was hoping to find you and talk to you again."

Ryoga stood straight up and smirked. "I'm listening."


	22. Breaking Point

_I'd like to thank ChaosSonic1 who has provided me with many great ideas for the future of this fic._

Summer started and Ranma, Genma, and Akane were taking a mini-vacation/training trip to the mountains outside Nerima to give Ranma a little more freedom to practice at his level while giving Akane something more practical to train with then straw dummies and cinder blocks.

Right now the short-haired girl was chopping wood for tonight's fire by a stream. Thanks to experience in breaking stone bare-handed, it was a simple task for her to chop wood the same way.

**Chapter 22: Breaking Point**

'I can't believe they actually did that.' Akane thought, trying to calm herself. She wasn't angry, no she was nervous and on edge. 'I mean, I don't think they even tried getting us separate tents. And Nabiki, how could she just hand me a box of condoms while Ranma's looking? And keep a straight face like that while saying she hoped they fit?'

Ranma was just as embarrassed, but he was too busy sparring with Genma in tiger-cow form to focus on it. His father was deathly afraid of being forced to eat Akane's cooking, and could only hope that his curse form had a stronger stomach than his human form did.

'You did bring food for me right?' Genma's sign read as he swung a fist at his son.

"We brought plenty. It just needs to be cooked." Ranma answered as he tried to kick his father. 'We did sneak in some sandwiches for him, but he'll find that out on his own soon enough.'

'You may like her food, but I don't.' Genma replied, pausing before he tried to damage the tree Ranma was being supported by.

"So cook your own damn meals. It's not that hard if you have actual hands you cow." Ranma replied with a kick, trying to knock Genma out and end this.

"Son-in-law, what a surprise to see you here." Cologne said, surprising Ranma and adding a tap to his back with her staff if she hadn't already surprised him enough. "Are you training too?"

Ranma tried to kick her away. "Not you again!" He missed.

Cologne landed on a branch outside his reach. "Don't misunderstand. I didn't come to fight you. But I do suggest you train exceptionally well. You may need it very soon."

She then started jumping away, promising to see him again.

"What's she babbling about now?" Ranma asked himself.

* * *

Outside Ranma's range of vision and hopefully hearing, Cologne returned to her temporary pupil Ryoga, who was standing beside a large boulder as she instructed. "Before we begin, I want to see you shatter this boulder." She tapped it with her staff as she said this.

"Is that all?" Ryoga asked, then flexed his arms. "And here I thought you had something I couldn't already do in mind."

"So confident are we?" Cologne teased.

"Yes!" Ryoga shouted as he hit the large rock, cleaving it neatly in two with small amount of rubble created on the side. "How's that?"

"Fine, but I said 'shatter', not 'split'." She corrected before approaching a second nearby one. "Like this."

Cologne appeared to simply yet quickly tap it with her right index finger, but suddenly the boulder exploded like dynamite had gone off inside it. Ryoga was stunned silent. "Care to learn that trick?"

"And here I thought nothing you had other than your face could shock me." Ryoga muttered, earning him a hit on top of his head. Naturally he grumbled and rubbed the sore spot. "Hey, where'd your granddaughter go?"

"I sent her on business, to give you a better advantage later on."

* * *

Later that evening Ranma's group was sitting down to eat. Ranma was in oni form and Genma was in human form, having found the already-prepared food set aside for him. Akane was dishing up some curry for herself and Ranma, while having something set aside for herself in case it didn't turn out good to her.

'I know my cooking isn't that great, but I got to at least try it. I really hope someday Rama will enjoy it as a boy.' She told herself, for once preparing herself for the likelihood her food wasn't good to anyone except Ranma's oni form.

"Here you go Ranma." She said as she handed him his plate. "I tried adding white wine."

"Is that good for curry?" She asked.

Akane shrugged. "Don't know, but I think it's worth a try."

Ranma took a spoonful and tasted it. "Mmmm... tastes great-tcha."

Akane smiled and took a spoonful herself. Her tongue felt like it was on fire and she spat it out. "I guess I still need more time to get it right." She said shamefully, hanging her head.

"But at least it won't go to waste-tcha." Ranma added between mouthfuls, making her fiancee smile.

Genma looked thru the ingredients and pulled out a bottle. "Is this what you used?"

Akane glanced at it. "Yes. Why?"

Genma turned the bottle so she could clearly see the label, which read vinegar. "This isn't white wine."

"Oops." The youngest Tendo said sheepishly. "But at least the mayo and sugar worked."

"You put mayonnaise and sugar in curry?" Genma asked, horrified by the thought. He then glanced at his son-turned-daughter, who hadn't paused at all now that she heard what was in the food she was consuming. Genma suddenly felt his stomach clench up and stood up. "Y'know, while there's still light out I better head down the mountain for additional provisions. Take care of the camp for me." He then grabbed his knapsack and headed off.

Ranma finished the dish. "Probably still hungry and won't get much for us-tcha."

There was some rustling in the bushes and the two got to their feet right away. From the bushes emerging Shampoo with a few leaves in her hair. "Oh? Nihao Airen and Violent Girl."

"What are you doing here?" Ranma asked, momentarily forgetting her earlier encounter with Cologne.

"In area, look for food and smell cooking. Had to see." Shampoo answered, sniffing the air a bit. "Shampoo hungry. Can spare?"

'Perfect time to hurt her back for making Ranma endure all he's had to because of her.' Akane thought with a devious smile before she gathered some food and held it out. "Sure. Enjoy."

'Might as well see how Shampoo reacts to this.' Ranma thought at the same time.

Shampoo took the curry and sampled a bite. Her reaction was her eyes bulging to the point veins could be seen in them and the spoon snapping in her hand. She immediately coughed up the ingested portion like a cat hacking up a furball, and cursed in Mandarin while wiping her mouth clean of any residual taste.

"What's the matter?" Akane teasingly asked.

"What is this?" Shampoo managed to cough out.

"The best food in the world... if you're an oni like me." Ranma answered.

Thanks to her disgusted expression, neither of them could tell that Shampoo suddenly got an idea. "Might taste good if ghost cat then. Mind Shampoo take for later?"

'Wasn't expecting that.' Akane thought but nodded. "Sure, I guess."

With a smile Shampoo got up with a small container of curry and headed off, presumably to a source of cold water. But as she walked off, she happened to drop something.

Akane noticed the dropped object on the ground right away. "Hey Shampoo!" She called out, but got no answer. "Guess I'll have to bring it back to her later." She then picked it up and saw exactly what it was.

A small thing of lipstick.

* * *

"Did you do it?" Cologne asked as her great-granddaughter returned to camp.

"Yes Grandmother. She got it."

"Good. Then tomorrow we act."

"Then me again why I had to put lipstick on?" Ryoga irritably asked, his lips unnaturally redder than normal.

"You'll find out tomorrow, and I bet you'll greatly enjoy the result." Cologne told him, then noticed the food in Shampoo's hand. "Where did you get that?"

"Is horrible food dogs not eat. But Airen say oni curse likes it." Shampoo then handed it to her relative.

The Amazon elder quickly saw Shampoo's intention and smiled. "Well done child. Well done."

"What am I missing here?" Ryoga asked, not seeing the significance of loaned food.

Cologne hit him with some water, turning him into his young fire-breathing oni form. "Here, have some dinner. If you're a good boy then tomorrow you might get more."

"I AM a good boy." Ryoga replied.

* * *

The next morning Genma had yet to show up. Ranma woke up, male form, and quickly saw this when he got out of his tent. 'Probably got drunk and passed out. Lousy cow.'

He looked towards Akane's tent. Despite her family's wishes, the two were not ready to share a sleeping space yet and didn't even try last night. With Genma's absence it was made all the easier.

Akane was still inside her tent, brushing her hair now that she was dressed in her yellow gi. 'I know it's going to get messed up later anyway, but there's no reason not to try and look good for Ranma.' With that thought she put down the brush and picked up the lipstick. 'Would she mind if I tried some before I brought it back?'

Not seeing any reason not to, Akane decided to put some of the lipstick on, making her lips a darker shade or red and overall more enticing. 'Hope Ranma likes. If he does I may wear makeup a little more for him.'

Akane then walked outside and saw Ranma already doing a kata. "Mind if I join you?" He nodded, and the two started moving in sync getting their muscles ready for more vigorous movements.

After ten minutes they came to a stop. "I've got to go use a bush." Ranma said, walking off.

Akane went to the provisions. 'Maybe I can make something so Ranma won't work out on an empty stomach.' She smiled brightly as she looked thru the food. 'Now that someone actually likes my food, I'm enjoying cooking so much more. This must be what Kasumi feels.'

A rustling was heard not from Ranma's direction, and Akane turned to see Ryoga approaching. "I'm glad I found you instead of getting lost again."

"What are you doing here?" Akane asked.

"I was just in the area and last night I found some girls training out here. One handed me some really great food and told me I'd find some more here." Ryoga explained.

Akane was confused but quickly got what he was saying. 'That food Shampoo borrowed last night must have been for him. And since he can become an oni too he should enjoy my cooking too. Well there's no point in letting him go hungry.' Akane smiled. "I think I can provide you some, but after that you've got to go. I don't want you picking on Ranma anymore."

"He deserves it after what he did to me." Ryoga countered.

"He did no-" Akane shouted back, but in their little argument the two got a bit close then felt an involuntary pull towards each other. Before they could stop themselves, their lips were pulled into an involuntary kiss.

And of course, it was this moment that Ranma returned.

Akane was trying to push Ryoga off, but he was too much in shock to do anything himself. But fortunately the liplock gave and when it did Akane fumed and hit Ryoga into LEO. "RYOGA YOU JERK!"

"Akane...?" Ranma called out to her, his tone careful and sure not to encourage her anger further.

Akane turned and saw her fiancee, who looked as confused and shocked as she felt. The short-haired Tendo looked enraged but quickly changed her expression to worried. "Ranma, it's not what it looked like. He came on to me."

"Why? I mean, I didn't think of him as the type to steal a kiss."

"I don't know, but I don't like it." Akane added, coming up next to Ranma. "Maybe coming here was a bad idea. The Amazons and Ryoga have already bothered us. I'm almost afraid Kuno will too."

"We can handle them Akane."

Akane still felt uneased, but it wasn't from the worry of rivals and what they might do. No, it was from the memory of Ryoga's lips on her own and the strange sensation that pulled them together. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve but the memory didn't fade anymore than her lipstick did. "Ranma, could you do me a favor?"

"What's that Akane?" He asked. As soon as he did, Akane pulled him into another kiss, holding him close to her. Though he was surprised like the last time, this time Ranma managed to return it sooner and even wrap his arms around her.

Akane soon pulled away for breath, but she was happy to be breathless for something like this. "Thanks Ranma. I needed to remember what your lips felt like."

"Uh... glad to help." The pigtailed young man replied.

Unknown to them, Cologne was watching, while Shampoo was sent to retrieve Ryoga if possible. 'Drat, the magnetic lipstick worked as intended but the results were not as intended. Driving a wedge between those two will require something more drastic. Let's hope the other boy can accomplish something after this setback.' She then silently crept away.

* * *

The next couple of days went along quite peacefully for Ranma and Akane. They trained together with a god sense of positive energy between themselves, making Genma happy. Each night Akane cooked for Ranma and he tried to sample it as a male first, but of course had to change into his oni form to eat without feeling poisoned. Even so, Akane was glad he tried and at least enjoyed it one way, encouraging her to lean into him during the nights around the fire, making Genma even more happy.

The two were getting along so well that they didn't even complain when Genma just happened to go somewhere during the night and left them with nothing except a single tent and sleeping bag. Not to say they weren't embarrassed and hoping to hit the tiger-cow upside the head for the obvious insinuation, but they at least didn't yell at each other.

"Well I don't mind sharing the tent." Akane said to get the subject clear, knowing Ranma might fear how that would sound coming from him. "But I don't think I'm ready to share a sleeping bag with you yet Ranma."

"I'll be fine. It's not the first time I've had to sleep outdoors without blankets. At least it's a warm night."

"Ranma, I'm not having you sleep outside. We'll share the tent. At least you'll be warmer." Akane insisted.

Loud sounds of an approacher stopped them both from discussing this any further. The approacher appeared to be Ryoga, looking a bit mad to say the least.

"So, not only do you get to ruin my life, you get a girl that likes you enough to share her tent with you?" Ryoga asked, sounding like this was most unfair thing since slavery.

"Well maybe if you stopped obsessing over beating Ranma you'd find a girl who liked you." Akane told him. 'For the love of Kami-sama, what will it take to get thru to this guy? He's as dense as Kuno is.'

"Stay out of this for once you nosy bitch. This is between me and Ranma and I'm sick to death of you butting in." Ryoga said to Akane before returning his glare to Ranma. "Or have you gotten weak Ranma and need this girl to fight for you?"

Ranma looked at Ryoga without responding. 'Okay, it's plain obvious Ryoga has no intention of letting go of his grudge until he beats me in a fight, and even if I let him win it wouldn't be the victory he's after.' After looking at Akane for a moment then back to Ryoga, the pigtailed young man sighed and threw up his arms. "Forget it. I'm not fighting you anymore Ryoga."

"What?" Ryoga asked, both surprised and offended Ranma was dismissing him so much.

"It's pointless." Ranma told him. "If I win, you're just going to keep coming back over and over again. If you win, I'll be honor bound, and harassed by my old man, to do the same until I win. What's there to gain?"

Akane smiled, proud that her favorite male wasn't giving in so easily here.

Ryoga on the other hand was livid, clenching his fists. "When did I ask for your permission Ranma? Fight me!" He then charged forward like a mad man, only instead of fists, he held out a single finger aiming at Ranma's solar plexis. "Bakusai Tenketsu!"

Not wanting to see what this strange move did to him personally, Ranma dodged and Ryoga ended up hitting the ground. Imagine his and Akane's surprise when they saw the earth explode like Ryoga activated a land mine.

"What the hell is that?" Akane asked.

"That is the Breaking Point technique." Cologne said, appearing next to Akane startling the Japanese girl. At the same time Ryoga spun around and tried to attack Ranma again who dodged again, resulting in a tree exploding.

"What are you still doing here?" Akane asked the Chinese elder.

"Proving a point to Son-in-law, that we Amazons can be either his friends or enemies and he should know what the proper choice is."

"So basically, you're going to cause Ranma a lot of trouble until he agrees to marry Shampoo." Akane clarified.

"We'll also help him out on occasion to give him further incentive. We wouldn't want to drive him away now would we?"

Meanwhile, Ryoga kept trying his new maneuver but Ranma kept dodging. 'Dammit, I did not spend the past few days being kissed by boulders to lose this fight.' He attacked again, but this time Ranma kicked him in the gut.

"You're leaving too many openings Ryoga." Ranma told the lost boy, who hit the ground Ranma was standing on which exploded. Ranma got away and used his hands to swat away the new stony debris.

"Strange, Ryoga keeps missing. He hits well but he's too slow to hit his real target." Akane analyzed. "Not only that, the only taking the most damage from Ryoga's attack is Ryoga himself."

"I can see that." Cologne stated.

"Why did you teach him this dangerous technique? Do you want Ranma to explode too?"

"Oh, there's much more to the Breaking Point than just making something burst. Watch and see."

Another direct attack at Ranma and the pigtailed boy was getting fed it. "Time to end this!" He shouted, kicking Ryoga in the jaw sending him away into the mountainside where he hit the stone wall hard enough to crack it then have it cave in around him. "I actually expected better than that."

Suddenly the ground began to crack like a quake then burst from underneath, and Ryoga emerged, laughing. "You've gotten weak Ranma! Your kick felt like a baby's attack!"

'It can't be.' Ranma and Akane both thought, realizing this wasn't going to be as easy to finish as they originally thought.

Cologne merely smirked, and hoped Shampoo was doing her assigned task properly.


	23. Fast Break

It was hard to believe, but even after experiencing something that would kill a normal person or at least shatter their spine, Ryoga was standing and laughing like someone had merely tickled him instead.

"You think I'm weak Ranma? You're the weak one now."

**Chapter 23: Fast Break**

Akane quickly glared down at Cologne who showed not even a hint of worry at the taller female. "What the hell have you and him been up to?"

"Just some training is all."

"What kind of training makes this happen?" Akane asked, getting louder.

"The kind where the student is hit with boulders repeatedly in the process." Cologne answered like it was an everyday answer.

"Hit... with boulders?" Akane repeated in disbelief.

"Just a Joketsuzoku training method. As you can see the results are quite extraordinary."

Ranma was now much more serious about dodging and attacking Ryoga, but Ryoga acted with one goal on his mind: hit Ranma just once.

"What's going on here?" Genma asked as soon as he returned.

"Ryoga's trying to kill Ranma with some crazy technique." Akane answered.

Right then Ryoga hit the ground with his fingers and a crater was created via explosion, with Ranma using the debris to get into the air and kick some down to Ryoga on the ground.

"Is that the Bakusai Tenketsu?" Genma asked.

"You've heard of it?" Akane asked.

'Hmm... let's see how much the fat man knows.' Cologne thought.

"Just the theory of it. You see Akane, all matter on this earth has somewhere on itself a weak spot. Be it the hardest diamond, the sharpest sword, or yes, even the human body. Hit that one spot with enough force, and the entire structure is destroyed."

Akane looked horrified. "Then... if Ryoga hits Ranma..." She imagined Ranma exploding like a bomb. "How do we stop Ryoga?"

"Watch closely and you'll see the method itself has a few drawbacks like any other." The elder Saotome told her.

Ryoga struck the ground in front of himself creating another blast. Ranma however was unimpressed as he deflected the debris but he was cautious. 'He's created a smokescreen to catch me off guard. Too bad I'm faster than him.'

Not only was Ryoga slower than Ranma, he was louder. "HYAAAH!" He yelled as his silhouette came into view from the smoke, alerting Ranma with enough time to dodge again. Ryoga's fingers kept going forward hitting another part of the ground creating another blast.

"Weird, with this technique Ranma actually has the advantage over Ryoga." Akane mused as she watched. "I mean, sure Ryoga's got the more dangerous hit, but he's got no better accuracy or speed then he did before. He keeps missing and when he does, he's the one who's always at the blast site at point-blank range. So he gets hammered by the shrapnel while Ranma is relatively unscathed."

"Exactly." Genma concurred.

Akane turned to Cologne. "But why teach him this? How does it help anyone?"

The elder Amazon smirked. "You've already seen how. Pay closer attention."

Ryoga made another effort, but this time he avoided too much momentum and stayed in front of Ranma, trying to strike his head.

"If you take too many hits, you're going to pass out long before I will." Ranma commented as he nimbly dodged still.

"Shut up!" Ryoga yelled, getting too frustrated with so many misses he was losing control over himself.

Ranma ducked and swerved forward to get around his rival. "Maybe I should just end this." He then kicked Ryoga in the chest, sending him back but Ranma was still cautious from his last attack.

Ryoga collided with nothing but got up like he had merely been patted. "Nice try Ranma, but that old crone has been throwing boulders at me for a week just to learn the bakusai tenketsu. You hits are like a flyswatter by comparison."

"Wait, I get it." Akane said. "Part of his training was increasing his endurance. That's why nothing that he's been hit with so far has affected him."

"Correct." Cologne nodded. "So with Son-in-law forced to resort only to dodging, he has little hope of winning this... without a little help of course."

"Like what?" Akane asked, instantly suspicious.

Deciding to surprise Ryoga and go on the offensive, Ranma ran to a tree and used it as a springboard to give himself a lot more momentum. Undaunted by this, Ryoga extended his arm with fingers pointing, certain Ranma couldn't dodge this. The pigtailed young man surprised the lost boy by grabbing his wrist before his fingers got close to any part of Ranma who twisted in the air to sweep-kick Ryoga on the side of his head.

"Didn't hurt!" Ryoga declared as he used the closeness to headbutt Ranma, stunning the young Saotome and making him left go of his old friend, skidding across the ground a bit.

"You don't have the strength to beat me Ranma!" Ryoga announced as he tried to get in his finishing move and destroy Ranma. At the last moment, Ranma turned and avoided the hit.

"I didn't want to have to use this Ryoga, but I don't have a choice right now." The pigtailed boy muttered as he got back on his feet. "Saotome Secret Technique!"

Genma looked surprised. "Whoa, is he actually going to use it?"

"Use what?" Akane asked, not taking her eyes off Ranma. She saw him block another hit from Ryoga, turn around and croach down, then spring forward and head off out of sight. "That... that was it?"

"Secret Technique?" Ryoga asked, just standing there dazed and confused, then angry. "Hey! Get back here you bastard!" He then chased after Ranma.

"Just what kind of technique was that?" Akane grilled Genma. Cologne listened in, also curious as to how this was a legitimate move.

"It's a vital part of Saotome Style Anything Goes, but not a commonly used maneuver called the Fast Break." Genma stated, trying to look and sound as sagely as possible. "Like I taught Ranma, there will come times when your opponent outclasses you and the way to victory will not be clear. In those times one must not rely on brute strenth nor perception, but rather motion, contemplation, and opposition."

Akane looked unimpressed. "In other words, running away long enough to buy yourself time to think of a new strategy."

Genma shrugged. "I suppose yes in layman's terms."

"What kind of technique is that!" The short-haired Tendo yelled.

"Hey it's hard than it looks. Sometimes you have nowhere to run to or your opponent is quicker." Genma countered.

Still unhappy, Akane closed her eyes and sighed. "I guess in this situation it was actually good for Ranma to do this. But we better make sure Ryoga doesn't make this worse."

* * *

Ryoga looked around. "Heh, the fool. As if running in the woods would save him from me."

Without response, Ranma sprang forward out of the trees, arms cocked back as if ready to punch. Ryoga smiled smugly, seeing no possible way for Ranam to dodge given his trajectory, and extended his finger out.

Imagine his surprise when Ranma used two fingers to grab his own in a scissor fashion. "Breaking Point Block." Ranma called it, proving he now had a defense against this technique. At the same time Ranma used his grip to advert Ryoga's arms and extended his legs forward, using the inertia behind his lunge to kick Ryoga with both legs at once.

Ryoga had to admit that hurt a little, but now he was getting impatient. "That tickles." He said to cover up the slight pain he was feeling.

"Then you won't mind feeling it again." Ranma stated before punching him with both fists in his right shoulder. This was actually an Amaguriken attack but Ryoga was unfamiliar with the move and assumed it was just a normal hit, except this one did hurt him.

At this point Akane, Genma, and Cologne managed to find them. "Ranma!" Akane shouted, drawing his attention.

"I'm fine. Just stay back. He's determined to fight no matter what we do."

"Just give up Ranma. You'll never be able to outlast me like this." Ryoga taunted.

"You have no right to talk about giving up when you clearly don't know the meaning of the words."

"Shut up." Ryoga stated before attempting another attack. Ranma ducked under the arm and did an amaguriken attack straight to his abdomen, halting Ryoga. But the lost boy refused to go down. "Breathing a little hard aren't you?" He taunted, noticing his rival was starting to show signs of fatigue. "What's wrong Ranma? You can't be getting tired so quickly." Another attempt by Ryoga and another dodge from Ranma but this time no attack on his own end.

'Damn he's noticing. I need to end this soon. I've probably got one more good use of the amaguriken left in me. I need to make this count.'

"Ranma looking a little worn out." Akane noted.

"What did you expect? The reptitive motion of the Amaguriken takes a toll on the body if overused in so short a time." Cologne responded.

Ryoga jumped at Ranma and looked like he was going to try hitting him in a scissor move. Ranma had nowhere to dodge but down, and it looked like he was falling on his back. Ryoga laughed at this and continued aiming at Ranma, thinking he had him pinned. "You're finished!"

"Ranma!" Akane screamed, ready to jump out and save him, but she wasn't fast enough.

Ryoga struck, but Ranma shifted at the last moment so Ryoga hit the ground under them both. Ranma knew he didn't have the resistance power Ryoga did, but maybe the inertia proved by the blast combined with the extra hits from the gravel would be what it took to make his last amaguriken effective.

The blast sent both flying up, hurting Ranma's back but not enough to make him pass out. He grabbed ahold of the lost boy then proceeded to hit him in the stomach hundreds of times in a few seconds, his arm muscles screaming at him at this point. It worked but it wasn't enough.

"You lose Ranma." Ryoga said thru clenched teeth.

"I think not." Ranma countered as he flipped them in the air and gave one good hard punch in the gut again at the same moment Ryoga landed. Ryoga silently yelled then passed out.

Akane smiled. "Nice job Ranma."

"Did I beat him?" Ranma asked just before he heard a crack.

It turns out the two boys landed right beside a cliff, and the force of their landing broke off the part they landed on, resulting in them both falling over the edge.

Akane rushed to the side of the cliff unable to grab him and stop him from falling. "RANMA!"

"Son-in-law, you can be so clumsy sometimes." Cologne commented.

Akane glared at the old woman. "He just fell over a cliff and THAT'S all you have to say?"

"Look at the bottom." Cologne calmly added.

Akane looked back down, now seeing there was a river. "Oh thank Kami-sama. He's still alive. I'm getting down there and finding him right now." She said as she got up and ran to find a safe way down.

"You are aware Son-in-law can fly in his cursed form right?" Cologne informed her, making the young Tendo stop.

"What's your point?"

"He can come back up here. So going down there would be pointless."

Akane still looked angry, then sighed. "You may have a point, but I still need to go find him myself."

"Why?"

Akane looked away. "He's my fiancee. What more reason do I need?" She then ran off.

* * *

Downriver, Ranma in oni form flew out of the water and in her exhaustion collapsed on her back. Next to her was Ryoga in his oni form, still knocked out. "Dammit Ryoga, why do you hafta be so much trouble?"

There was a rustling in the bushes, making Ranma sit up despite her weariness. Out emerged Shampoo. "Aiyah, found you Airen." She happily greeted.

"I'm tired and not in the mood Shampoo-tcha." Ranma told the Chinese girl, suspicious of her intentions.

"No in mood for this?" She asked, holding up a kettle. Ranma reached out for it but she pulled it back and waved a finger. "No get for free."

"What do you want?"

Shampoo smirked. "Want you try this." She held up a canteen.

"Why?"

"Just new recipe I try. Oni might like more than violent girl's cooking."

Ranma was skeptical, but she was also thirsty from the fight, so she took the canteen. "Alright. Thanks-tcha." She took a swig of it, and then dropped the canteen. "What is...?" Her vision got blurry and she lost the ability to stand, making her hover on reflex. "I feel funny." She said with a light giggle.

Shampoo still grinned. 'Mercenary girl right, pickled plums are like sake to oni.' What she gave Ranma was pickled plum in juice form. "Airen want good time?"

"Good time sounds good-tcha." Ranma replied like a typical drunkard.

"Then follow Shampoo." She said before turning around and beckoning the oni to follow, which she did.

* * *

Akane had reached the bottom of the cliff and was checking the river banks going downriver. Genma was with her but Cologne was nowhere to be seen.

"He is okay isn't he?" Akane asked, trying not to sound as frightened as she felt.

"My son's a survivor. A fall at that height into a river won't kill him." Genma told her.

"I sure hope so."

Genma smiled at her obvious care for his son. 'It's only a matter of time before those two want to say 'I do'. When they do, Tendo and I can relax and maybe Nodoka will consider Ranma manly enough to spare. Hmm... maybe Akane being pregnant would help his case more when the time comes. Oh well, I'll only interfere if it ever looks like they need a push forward. For the time being they're doing fine without it.'

"Mr. Saotome, why exactly would you make running away a technique?" Akane asked. "It's because Ranma did that that he even ended up near the cliff. So why would you teach him that?"

"Akane, you do understand the basis of Anything Goes right?" Genma asked. "Anything Goes is exactly what it sounds like. Anything goes in combat. Whatever it takes to win. You use anything at hand, any advantage you can find. You do this because there is always a way to win. It may be painful, it may be humiliating, it may even be unorthodox or viewed as dishonorable to others, but there is _always_ a way to win. Sometimes it's just not obvious, and you need to retreat for a time to think instead of react. That is why the Fast Break exists."

"It's still just running away." Akane commented.

Genma frowned. "Akane, you clearly do not understand Anything Goes as well as you should. You're the heir to one of the schools and yet you still don't have an appropriate grasp of just what it is our schools were based upon."

Akane glared at her potential father-in-law. "You take that back!"

"Or you'll what?" Genma challenged and crossed his arms. "Remember Akane I was training in Anything Goes before you were even born. Before your father even met your mother. And I've continued my training all this time and taught Ranma all he knows. You really think I'm at the same level as those boys you beat up each morning?"

Akane was still irritated by his less than flattering comment, but chose to be rational at the moment. "No."

"Then listen or I may have to get rough on you later on."

"You can't. I'm a girl."

Genma looked at her quite sternly. "Akane, there's a different between can't and won't. I mean, let's say hypothetically you were in the habit of hitting Ranma every time you got mad but he never hit you back. Do you think he wouldn't be hitting you because he was _incapable_ of doing it? Or would be much more likely he simply chose not to?"

Akane thought it over, remembering what all Ranma could do in either of his forms. It was true, there was no physical reason he couldn't hit her back if she hit him first, and even some members of the Hentai Horde had actually tried to land hits on her too some mornings.

"But isn't it still a bad thing?" She asked, not seeing how a boy hitting a girl could ever be considered a good thing.

"Not if it's in a spar or training. Think about it Akane, you tell Ranma you want him to take you seriously in martial arts. How can he do that if you think he's not allowed to fight back. Do you _want_ him to be nothing more than a target for you?"

"No, of course not."

"Then you need to learn how to handle someone that fights back even if you're a girl. To a martial artist, hitting in matches and training is natural, it's part of the whole concept. Hitting someone in anger or to punish them is completely different. That's just abuse, and it doesn't matter what gender you are when you're abusing someone."

"So you're saying I'm supposed to let Ranma hit me?" Akane asked.

"I'm saying that if you want to be a real martial artist you need to truly understand what martial arts is. Martial arts isn't just having the ability to give a good hit. It's much, much more than that. I don't know what your father has been teaching you, but clearly you need a refresher course. Before we go home, I'm going to show you what Anything Goes is really about. Unless you think you can't handle it."

Akane gave him a firm and undaunted expression. "Let's find Ranma first. Then I'll show you what I can handle."

Genma smiled as soon as she looked away. 'She took the bait. By the time I'm done with her, she'll have a newfound respect for Ranma and maybe love him more.'


	24. No Control

"Is it ready?" Cologne asked her granddaughter when she found her at work deep in the forest. Beside her, Ranma was passed out like a drunk.

"Just about."

**Chapter 24: No Control**

"I can't find him anywhere." Akane complained.

"Then he got out of the water and is somewhere away from the riverbank." Genma told her. "I'll go check the other side in case he got out over there. You go back to camp and wait for either myself or him to return."

"Why do you get to search but I don't?" Akane asked.

Genma surprised her by leaning close to her. "Because I'm the only one who can cross the river without a bridge. Because I can track better than you in a forest. And because I'll make you eat only your own cooking for the rest of this trip if you think I'm asking for your permission here. Got it?" She nodded quickly like a scared child. "Good. Now head back to camp. Ranma may already be there but I'm checking in case he isn't. Send up a flare if he is, if not I'll return by sundown at latest."

He then walked off into the water, turning into a tiger-cow and swimming to the other side, leaving Akane alone. "Obviously there's a spine under all that fat." She mumbled before heading back to camp.

* * *

Tiger-cow Genma wandered thru the forest tracking with his nose. Long ago he suspected he'd have to track Ranma by scent with this form so he made sure to memorize the scents of both male and female Ranma for situations exactly like this one. Right now he noticed a faint scent of ozone, meaning Ranma was a girl, and there were two other scents accompanying it, one similar to Ranma's but with a hint of ash to it instead of ozone, and the other was familiar and mixed with herbal body wash, but not one he immediately recognized.

Genma didn't like that and followed the trail as fast as he could without losing it. As he moved, he noticed that it strangely went in a straight line. No turns or anything. Almost as if Ranma was fleeing something or being led somewhere.

With that in mind, Genma hurried even more.

It didn't take him long to find his son, who was in male form and stumbling around holding his head. "Ugh what happened to me?"

'Boy where have you been?' Genma's sign read, but Ranma didn't have his eyes open so he couldn't read it. Frustrated, Genma hit him over the head with the sign to gain his attention. Unfortunately, Ranma passed out instead. With a heavy sigh, Genma lifted his son up and on his back then carried him back towards the campground.

The whole time he was unaware he was being watched.

* * *

"Ranma!" Akane shouted when she saw her fiancee returned to her.

Genma dumped him on the ground and he groaned, regaining consciousness. Akane immediately hugged him while Genma helped himself to the hot water Akane had prepared. He yelled in pain when he found out how hot it really was.

"'Er em I?" Ranma mumbled.

"Ranma, are you okay? You're not hurt are you?" Akane asked.

He grimaced. "Nut so lawd."

Genma in human form approached the two and whispered. "I think he has a hangover. I've seen enough in my life to recognize one."

"You think it was actual alcohol or pickled plums?" Akane asked quietly.

"Doesn't matter. What he needs is quiet and rest. Put him in his tent and keep him warm. He'll be fine tomorrow. Then we can start on training you both."

Akane nodded and helped Ranma stand up. "Come with me Ranma, we'll get you some rest."

He looked like he was already about to pass out, but Akane and Genma managed to get him into his tent and lay him down. His clothes were a little damp, so without hesitation Akane took off everything except his boxers. Normally she'd be too nervous or embarrassed to even start such a thing, but right now her concern for Ranma overrode anything else she might be feeling.

After that she covered him with a blanket, seeing him sleeping peacefully. 'I should probably keep an eye on him, in case Ryoga or the Amazons come back.'

Her mind already made up and now armed with a convenient explanation, she slipped under the covers with him and cuddled up next to him. 'He feels so warm. And he smells better than I thought sleeping next to a boy might. I think I could get used to this.'

* * *

'Time to see if this works.' A figure in the nearby bushes said before looking at the small object in their hands then started to tinker with it.

* * *

Akane woke up when Ranma unexpectedly moved around in a jerking fashion. He suddenly raised his right hand as if pointing to the sky, though his hand was limp, then brought it down on her side with enough force for it to hurt. Not a lot, but enough to make her wince.

"Ranma what are you doing?" She asked.

The pigtailed just remained asleep, unaware of anything around him.

'Maybe it was a subconscious thing. Kasumi says I tend to move around a lot when I sleep so maybe he was just doing the same.' The youngest Tendo thought.

Then Ranma's whole body jerked upright quickly, the motion snapping him back into consciousness. "Wadda?" He mumbled, conscious but not fully awake.

Then, as if he were guided by invisible puppet strings, Ranma flipped upside down. He did not move like a martial artist might; instead it was more like something grabbed him and spun him around 180 degrees.

"What's going on?" He asked as he hovered above the ground, only a few inches of air separating his head from the tent floor.

"This has to be the Amazon's fault." Akane said, sounding as frightened as he did.

Before Ranma could reply, he was yanked out of the tent, nearly toppling it over in the process before he stopped, still hovering upside down. In front of him, now at eye level, was an amused Cologne. "You!"

"Why hello Son-in-law. Something looks different about you. New haircut maybe?"

"What the hell did you do to me?" Ranma yelled as Akane managed to follow him out of the tent.

"Now what makes you think I did anything to you?"

"Ranma can't float in air as a male. So this has to be your doing." Akane stated, looking ready to mallet the old woman into a wheelchair.

"If so, why should I undo it? I can make Son-in-law do whatever I want. Maybe I want him to spin around for a moment." Cologne replied.

As if on cue, Ranma started spinning like a wheel, at a moderate rate but not a comfortable one.

"Make it stop!" Akane shouted, reaching out to force Ranma to stop moving. Once she grabbed him she ended up spinning with him for a few seconds until she lost her grip and was thrown to the ground.

Ranma stopped spinning after a moment and fell to the ground himself. Akane came right up to him and helped him up.

Cologne just looked bored. "Or maybe I want him to attack you instead."

Unable to control himself, Ranma got on his feet though it still felt like he wasn't actually affected by gravity, then turned to Akane and arched his right fist. "Akane move!" He warned, his face showing he really did not want to do this.

His fist came forward, but rather than dodge it Akane managed to block it. His left leg followed up with an attack, but she blocked that too with little effort. 'Strange, there's almost no speed or force to his movements. I can easily see them coming and when they hit it's barely at normal strength. It's like... that's it! She can control his motions, but that's all he's really doing, going thru the motions. There's no substance behind them at all.'

Confident in her analyst, Akane backed away from Ranma and stared triumphantly at Cologne. "You think you can beat me with Ranma? Just two hits and I've already seen how much you can control him."

"Impressive, but who said I wanted him to defeat you?" The old woman replied, confusing them both. "Son-in-law, I can take control of your body at any point in your life now. There's nothing you can do to stop it. However, I am willing to release you from this, as long as you renounce your bond to this girl and marry my Shampoo first thing in the morning."

Ranma frowned. "Fat chance Old Ghoul. Akane, get me some water."

"What?"

"Get me some water. She may be able to control my body, but I doubt she can control my lightning." He said. 'That and I don't get lightheaded in oni form from moving in the air like this.'

Akane nodded and left to get a canteen. 'I hope this works, because she doesn't seem to concerned about Ranma changing right now.' Akane brought the water, wondering if she should wake up Genma but deciding against it, and turned Ranma to his oni form.

Now Ranma was hovering by choice. She crossed her arms and released a few spark around herself as a warning. "Go ahead and control me now you hag-tcha. Can you control electricity too?"

Cologne still looked amused. "Go ahead and try it."

Confused, Ranma had no intention of not calling her bluff. 'I won't kill her, just enough to show I mean business.' She readied up some electricity, but as soon as she was sparking her head hurt and it was nothing like a hangover. "AAAGHH!" Ranma screamed screamed, clutching her head. 'It feels like I've got a vicegrip on it.'

The sensation disappeared and so did the sparks. Akane looked horrified but Cologne still looked like she saw something entertaining.

"See that Son-in-law? I may not be able to control your little lightnings, but I can stop you from creating them in the first place. And I can still control your movements even in this form. Understand? Until you agree to my conditions, you will never again have control over yourself."

"Why are you doing this?" Akane asked. "How can you call yourself a martial artist when you act so dishonorably?"

"I am an Amazon, my honor lies in upholding the traditions of our culture more than the standards of Japanese dojo families. As long as Ranma here is not someone we are better off without, rest assured there is no line we will not cross to ensure Shampoo's honor remains intact. I'm doing this for her, and thus your honor and his means absolutely nothing to me."

Akane glared hatefully and ambushed the old woman, or at least she tried to. She was knocked flat on her stomach with Cologne perched on her spine using her staff. "You're two hundreds too early to do anything to me."

"I'm not!" Ranma yelled before pouncing at the Amazon elder too, only to stop uncontrollably and be thrown back like an invisible giant hand batted her away.

"Is that so Son-in-law?" Cologne jested.

'How is she doing this?' Akane asked. 'If we can figure that out, maybe we can break her hold over him.' She looked at the old woman, trying to see anything on her that wasn't there normally. 'Unless she's got an amulet or something under her robes, I don't see anything. And I'm not undressing her to find it. It's not worth it.'

Akane tried to get up, but Cologne must have been pressing a pressure point to keep her from moving her legs. Best thing the Tendo could do was swing her arms. Cologne halted her attempted punch, but at the same time Ranma made another flying attack at Cologne's blind side, only to be redirected in a U-turn.

Akane widened her eyes. 'Wait, there's no way she saw that and even if she heard Ranma approach she gave no signal to control him. Can she do this with mere thought? No, that's impossible. Somehow, someway, someone has to be doing something that affects Ranma.' She thought, still confused but certain the answer was obtainable. 'Wait, where's Shampoo? Shouldn't she be nearby?'

"Let's now make this harder on us then it has to be Son-in-law." Cologne said, turning to face the oni while keeping her position atop Akane. "Just give up on this girl and be with Shampoo. It's not like you're in love with her yet or anything so what's the harm?"

Ranma landed on the ground, looking offended. "What I feel for her is none of your business-tcha. No one can tell me who to love, and I hate the idea of people telling me to marry a girl because it works in _their_ favor, not mine. I'm not going to love any girl just because someone else wants me to-tcha. You got that you wrinkled up bitch?"

Infuriated, Cologne got off Akane and hit Ranma several times before she could blink. "Watch your tongue boy." She said before continuing the assault. All the while Ranma just smirked and blocked while giving Akane a brief glance.

Freed, Akane got back on her feet and ran towards the surrounding plant life. After a moment, she found the purple-haired Amazon crouched behind a bush observing Ranma and Cologne. On the ground was something that looked like a tiny male Ranma doll, and in her hands was another one for his female oni form. Shampoo was too engrossed in the scuffle in front of her to notice Akane was close by, and when it looked like Cologne was gesturing something, she made the doll in her hand punch itself in the gut, which Ranma promptly mimicked.

"So that's how you're doing it." Akane said, startling Shampoo making her drop the doll. Which in turn made Ranma faceplant herself. "You're doing some kind of voodoo control over both of Ranma's forms until he gives in, aren't you? That's low." 'Though if I could use these to keep Kuno away from me, I might be a little more tolerant.'

The shock fading, Shampoo grabbed both dolls and stood up firmly, resolute. "You no do anything. Airen mine to control with these. Even destroy them hurt him."

"Is this really what you want? To control him with dolls in order to keep him around?" Akane asked.

"Must make Airen mine. Must or else no can go home." The Amazon insisted.

'Sounds more like what she really wants is just to go home, not be his wife.' Akane thought. "You really think this is going to make him like you more than me?"

"No need it to, just need him notice Shampoo more than you." Shampoo declared.

'Is she jealous of me?' Akane asked herself.

* * *

With Shampoo distracted she couldn't control Ranma anymore and thus the oni girl was getting even with the Amazon elder. Ranma grinned seeing that Cologne no longer was influencing her movements. 'Here's something I've been wanting to try for a while, now's as good a time as any to see how it works.' Readying her fists, Ranma flew right to Cologne's face. "Kachuu Tenshin Amaguriken."

Cologne thought she'd have no problem blocking the fists. She knew not only how to perform the Chestnut Fist, she knew how to counter it as well. Standard principle in martial arts, as soon as you learn a maneuver learn how to counter it and if possible how to counter the counter. This was almost laughable to her.

However, when she did block and deflect the punches, she felt something very unexpected, an electric tingle. The confusion and disorientation of this new sensation made her speed falter and Ranma was able to get a few hits in, all of which came with an electric tingle about twice as strong as static electricity.

'He's combining his cursed form's power with the Amaguriken?" Cologne realized, falling to the ground and this time not feigning wariness. 'Dear Kami what if he does this with other moves too? What if he can use it in ki moves or the Cat Fist?'

"Had enough?" Ranma asked, sparking a little more for show.

'He is definitely worth pursuing, but we must be more cautious in how. Also we must monitor his growth as a fighter lest he get too strong.' The old woman considered, then got back to her feet. "We will still win you over Son-in-law. You're not the first man to resist the lure of the Joketsuzoku and they've all been claimed by us. Don't forget, we still control your body."

"Sure doesn't look like it anymore-tcha." Ranma said before flying off to where she heard Akane's voice. She landed right between the two girls.

"Ranma, Shampoo has too voodoo dolls that she's been using this whole time. I don't know how they work, but they do."

Shampoo smiled. "They do, but no can stop me with them. Have boy for when Airen boy." She said indicating the male doll. "And have girl for when Airen girl." she then indicated the female doll. "And no can destroy without hurting Airen."

When they found Ranma passed out in the river and fed his oni form the pickled plum, it was to lead him to this contingency plan the Amazons had if Ryoga failed. Using special enhanced wax, they molded two effigies of Ranma and took a hair from each of his forms to place in them, thus creating a voodoo doll for either one of his forms. Whatever they did to one of the dolls, Ranma did the same or felt the same treatment the doll did.

"Oh really?" Ranma asked. Shampoo nodded, then Ranma held up a finger and fired a bolt of lightning at the male doll. It hit, ignited, and Shampoo dropped it before her hand burned. The ashes fell to the ground but nothing happened to Ranma. "Looks like I was right-tcha. I feel nothing that happens to them if I'm not the right gender."

Shampoo frowned then smiled pointing to the female doll. "Still have this one."

Akane smiled then pulled out a thermos she had on her, which she spilled on Ranma, turning him male since it was still warm. "Now it won't."

Before Shampoo could react, Ranma darted to her and grabbed the doll right out of her hand. She kicked him to get him to let go, but he ignored the pain and crushed the wax figure in his hands. "There. Now you've got nothing on me."

Shampoo frowned and it looked like she was trying not to cry, before she ran off, defeated.

Cologne then showed up and saw the ashes and wax chunks. "So you ruined this for us. Oh well, we have more tactics to us. This isn't over Son-in-law." Cologne said before pogoing away.

Ranma sighed. "This has not been a good night for me."

Akane nodded. "Me too. Let's just go get some sleep."

Ranma nodded. "By the way, thanks Akane."

"No problem. I'm just glad to be of help."

The two went back to their tent, and Ranma was too worn out to care about who slept where. So like before, Akane curled up next to him, enjoying this quiet relaxing time for them both.


End file.
